KOTRA Spreads 'K-Smart City' Technology and Experience in Thailand

KOTRA Hosts 'Korea-Thailand Smart City Day' in Bangkok
Seminars and Online Consultations Held... "Actively Targeting Demand for K-Smart City Cooperation"

Kim Hyuntae, Head of KOTRA Bangkok Trade Center, is delivering the opening speech at the 'Thailand-Korea Smart City Day'. (Photo by KOTRA)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyeyoung] KOTRA held the ‘Korea-Thailand Smart City Day’ in Bangkok, Thailand.

KOTRA announced on the 15th that from the 14th, for two days, it conducted an event sharing 'K-Smart City' technologies and experiences together with the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Thailand Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA).

From Korea, over 200 people including Lee Ukheon, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Thailand, and businesspeople participated both online and offline. On the Thai side, key figures such as Deputy Permanent Secretary Wetang Phuangsap of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, DEPA Vice President Passakon Prathombut, and major local government officials attended.

The event consisted of △ Korea-Thailand Smart City Cooperation Seminar △ Online Consultation Meeting △ MOU Signing Ceremony △ Korean Smart City Exhibition Hall.

At the ‘Korea-Thailand Smart City Cooperation Seminar,’ where major local governments and clients from Chiang Mai, Phuket, Khon Kaen, and other Thai regions served as speakers, various projects such as smart mobility, security, and energy were introduced, and interest and cooperation from the Korean government and companies were requested. The introduced bilateral smart security and healthcare cooperation cases and Korean company IR also attracted high attention.

The satisfaction with the Korean company solution exhibitions and experience zones introduced through the Smart City Exhibition Hall was also high. A representative from Thai client company A, who participated in the event, said, “Korea possesses excellent technology in the digital field,” and “Above all, they have abundant experience in installing and operating solutions in various countries, so we want to cooperate.”

The Thai government aims to establish 100 smart cities by 2022. Local governments are rushing to submit development plans to secure government incentives for smart city creation. Currently, besides the seven national smart city pilot areas including Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai, about 50 local governments are either formulating or have completed development plans and are seeking domestic and international cooperation partners.

Ambassador Lee Wook-heon of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Thailand (third from the right in the front row) is listening to an explanation from a representative of a participating company's booth. (Photo by KOTRA)

At the one-on-one consultation meeting held on the 15th, about 50 Thai local governments and local companies seeking cooperation partners and 25 Korean companies participated, conducting approximately 120 consultations on participation plans for local smart city projects.

Passakon Prathombut, Vice President of Thailand DEPA and a speaker at this event, emphasized, “Recent smart city trends include contactless, 5G, and data analysis, and Korea is leading these trends,” and added, “To expand cooperation, it is necessary for both countries to develop business models that can create a win-win situation.”

KOTRA President Yoo Jungyeol said, “Thailand is promoting the ‘Thailand 4.0’ policy to foster future industries and startups by utilizing smart city infrastructure,” and “We will strengthen support so that Korean-style smart cities can expand overseas by leveraging smart city policies of major countries.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.