Thailand and South Korea Set Ambitious USD 30 Billion Trade Target and Launch Cyber-Crime Cooperation
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul calls for early completion of CEPA and joint efforts against online scams and transnational crime.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has reinforced Bangkok’s commitment to elevate economic and security cooperation with South Korea, outlining a strategy to reach a bilateral trade volume of USD 30 billion and deepen collaboration on combating cross-border cyber-crime.
The two countries are advancing negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) designed to expand commerce beyond traditional manufacturing into advanced industries such as digital services, green energy and creative economies.
Thai and South Korean leaders agreed to “swiftly strike” the CEPA and accelerate cooperation in defence, infrastructure and digital finance during a call on October 16, 2025.
In 2023, bilateral trade reached approximately USD 14.9 billion—a 9.4 per cent decline from the previous year—but nonetheless positions South Korea as Thailand’s twelfth-largest trading partner and a key investor in sectors aligned with Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor development.
Thailand views the CEPA as a framework to transform this relationship into a more future-oriented strategic partnership.
Prime Minister Anutin emphasised that the trade agreement would help both nations tap into each other’s strengths, integrating Thailand’s advantages in electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors and logistics with South Korea’s expertise in advanced electronics and green technologies.
He described Thailand as “a strategic gateway” to the ASEAN market of 600 million consumers and stressed the importance of regulatory cooperation, fair investment and open trade for growth.
On the security front, the Prime Minister noted that online scams and telecommunications fraud have become a profound, borderless threat to the region’s digital trust.
Thailand has established its Steering Committee on Technology-Related Crimes, entered a joint task force with Cambodia, cooperates with Myanmar and China on repatriation of victims, and currently chairs the ASEAN working group on anti-online scams.
He said Thailand is prepared to host an international meeting on transnational crime to bolster cooperation with South Korea and other Indo-Pacific partners.
The push for economic and cyber-crime cooperation coincides with Thailand’s broader agenda of innovation-led growth under its Bio-Circular-Green economy policy and its flagship Eastern Economic Corridor initiative.
By marrying trade ambition with digital resilience and security cooperation, Thailand signals its readiness to deepen ties with South Korea across both economic and strategic dimensions.
The two countries are advancing negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) designed to expand commerce beyond traditional manufacturing into advanced industries such as digital services, green energy and creative economies.
Thai and South Korean leaders agreed to “swiftly strike” the CEPA and accelerate cooperation in defence, infrastructure and digital finance during a call on October 16, 2025.
In 2023, bilateral trade reached approximately USD 14.9 billion—a 9.4 per cent decline from the previous year—but nonetheless positions South Korea as Thailand’s twelfth-largest trading partner and a key investor in sectors aligned with Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor development.
Thailand views the CEPA as a framework to transform this relationship into a more future-oriented strategic partnership.
Prime Minister Anutin emphasised that the trade agreement would help both nations tap into each other’s strengths, integrating Thailand’s advantages in electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors and logistics with South Korea’s expertise in advanced electronics and green technologies.
He described Thailand as “a strategic gateway” to the ASEAN market of 600 million consumers and stressed the importance of regulatory cooperation, fair investment and open trade for growth.
On the security front, the Prime Minister noted that online scams and telecommunications fraud have become a profound, borderless threat to the region’s digital trust.
Thailand has established its Steering Committee on Technology-Related Crimes, entered a joint task force with Cambodia, cooperates with Myanmar and China on repatriation of victims, and currently chairs the ASEAN working group on anti-online scams.
He said Thailand is prepared to host an international meeting on transnational crime to bolster cooperation with South Korea and other Indo-Pacific partners.
The push for economic and cyber-crime cooperation coincides with Thailand’s broader agenda of innovation-led growth under its Bio-Circular-Green economy policy and its flagship Eastern Economic Corridor initiative.
By marrying trade ambition with digital resilience and security cooperation, Thailand signals its readiness to deepen ties with South Korea across both economic and strategic dimensions.
