INCHEON, South Korea: Cambodia is stepping up efforts to attract South Korean investment in automotive components, electric vehicle systems, healthcare technology and other higher-value industries, as the government pursues long-term plans to move the economy beyond its traditional reliance on garments and labour-intensive manufacturing.
The push was highlighted during Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol’s investment promotion mission to South Korea, where the first vice-chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) led a high-level delegation on a series of company visits and an investment roadshow in Incheon on June 16.
“The Royal Government of Cambodia is firmly committed and fully prepared to welcome and provide all kinds of facilitation to Korean investors,” he said, during the 2026 Incheon-Cambodia Investment Roadshow.
The mission brought Cambodian officials face to face with Korean companies already operating in sectors that Cambodia hopes to expand, including automotive parts, logistics, energy, construction and digital healthcare.
On the second day of what officials described as a “door-knock mission” to attract and promote investment, Chanthol visited Daejoo KC Group, a major South Korean conglomerate with operations in metallurgy, chemicals, logistics, construction, automotive components and energy.
During the meeting, he presented Cambodia’s latest investment opportunities to the company’s management and encouraged the group to consider expanding its investment in Cambodia into other sectors in which it already operates in South Korea.
The visit is significant because Daejoo KC is not new to Cambodia.
The group operates in the Kingdom through two subsidiaries, including Camko Motor, which assembles Hyundai vehicles for the domestic market and produces automotive wire harnesses for export, creating nearly 500 jobs.
Its other subsidiary, Camko Infracore, imports and distributes Hyundai vehicles from South Korea and provides maintenance services and spare parts.
For Cambodia, the presence of such companies offers more than job creation.
It provides an opening to become more deeply integrated into regional automotive supply chains at a time when global manufacturers are shifting toward electric vehicles, electronics and smart mobility.
That ambition was further reflected in Chanthol’s visit later the same day to Kyungshin Co., Ltd., a leading Korean company specialising in automotive electronic components and wire harness manufacturing.
Founded in 1974, Kyungshin produces wiring harnesses, connectors, junction blocks, cables and electrical systems for electric vehicles.
The company is also developing advanced technologies for EVs and future mobility solutions.
Chanthol also inspected the operations of Kyungshin Co., Ltd., which specialises in the automotive electronic components and wire harness manufacturing industry. Supplied
Kyungshin has already operated in Cambodia since 2012 through a wire harness factory in Vihear Suor commune, Khsach Kandal district, Kandal province. The factory has investment capital of about US$20 million and currently employs 1,467 workers.
The company’s long-standing presence gives Cambodia a practical foundation to argue that the Kingdom can support more complex manufacturing, particularly in automotive electronics and components.
At the broader Incheon-Cambodia Investment Roadshow, organised by the CDC in cooperation with the Incheon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chanthol reaffirmed Cambodia’s readiness to welcome Korean investors and provide facilitation under the Kingdom’s new investment law.
He explained that under the “Law on Investment of the Kingdom of Cambodia”, investors can benefit from incentive packages, attractive fiscal benefits, macroeconomic stability and reliable investment protection mechanisms.
The roadshow, attended by investors and representatives from major Korean companies, was designed to promote Cambodia’s investment potential, business opportunities and reform environment to South Korea’s business community.
According to the CDC, the event aimed to encourage Korean companies to expand their investment decisions toward Cambodia, while strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
The mission also showed that Cambodia is seeking not only factories, but also high-end services and technology transfer.
Following the visit to Daejoo, Chanthol led the delegation to Incheon Baek Hospital, a well-known medical institution in South Korea.
The visit focused on advanced medical technology, digital healthcare management systems and high-level healthcare standards.
Chanthol described healthcare and the establishment of international-standard hospitals as “key priorities” of the Cambodian government.
“We requested the hospital management to consider the possibility of providing technical assistance, as well as transferring knowledge and advanced medical technologies through training programmes and exchanges of experience between medical specialists of both countries,” Chanthol said.
The healthcare stop broadened the message of the mission. Cambodia is not only pitching itself as a base for production, but also as a market for advanced services, medical training and digital systems that can strengthen public welfare and support private-sector development.
The participation of the Cambodian ambassador to South Korea, officials from the CDC and Ministry of Commerce, representatives of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, the Cambodian Oknha Association and the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce also underlined the government’s attempt to align diplomacy, public policy and private investment promotion.
For decades, Cambodia’s manufacturing growth has been driven largely by garments, footwear and travel goods. These sectors remain crucial sources of employment and exports, but policymakers have increasingly stressed the need to diversify the economy into higher-value industries.
The Korea mission fits into that wider strategy. By targeting companies involved in automotive components, EV systems, logistics, energy, smart manufacturing and healthcare technology, Cambodia is signalling that it wants the next wave of investment to bring more skills, stronger supply-chain links and higher productivity.
The challenge will be whether Cambodia can provide the technical workforce, infrastructure and supporting industries required by these sectors.
Automotive electronics and EV components require more than basic assembly. They demand precision manufacturing, quality control, technical training and reliable logistics.
Digital healthcare, meanwhile, requires qualified medical personnel, hospital management systems and long-term knowledge transfer.
Still, the presence of Korean companies already operating in Cambodia gives the government a platform to build on.
Rather than seeking only new investors, Cambodia is now encouraging existing Korean firms to expand into additional sectors and move up the value chain. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
