Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – On June 18, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice President of the Council for Development, Sun Zhantuo, met with a delegation led by Kim Doo-sik, Director-General of the Korea Foreign Investment Inspection Agency (FIO), in Phnom Penh. The two sides held in-depth consultations and pragmatic exchanges on core issues such as deepening bilateral investment cooperation, improving the foreign investment service system, and optimizing cross-border business services, jointly exploring new paths for upgrading Cambodia-Korea investment cooperation.
During the meeting, Sun Zhantuo highlighted Cambodia's specific service measures for Korean investors. He stated that the Cambodian government attaches great importance to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors and the development of foreign-invested enterprises. To accurately address the needs of Korean investors and improve the quality and efficiency of services for Korean investment, a dedicated "Korean Affairs Office" has been officially established. This agency will focus on the pain points and service needs of Korean enterprises in Cambodia, providing one-stop, full-process, and efficient policy consultation, information matching, and supporting services to effectively safeguard the operation and development of Korean-invested enterprises in Cambodia.
Sun Zhantuo emphasized that Cambodia is committed to building a regular, multi-level bridge for government-business communication and continuously optimizing the business environment for foreign investment. Currently, Cambodia has established a regular communication mechanism for direct and efficient interaction between the government and foreign-invested enterprises, relying on diverse platforms such as the Government-Private Sector Forum (G-PSF), the Public-Private Sector Dialogue (PPSD), and business breakfast briefings. The establishment of this dedicated "Korean Affairs Office" is a refined and country-specific initiative launched by Cambodia specifically for Korean investors, enabling rapid response to their needs, efficient resolution of their operational difficulties, and further boosting their confidence and willingness to invest and do business in Cambodia.
Kim Doo-sik detailed the operational mechanism, functional positioning, and mature operating experience of the Korea Foreign Investment Inspection Agency (FIO). According to him, the FIO was established under South Korea's 1999 Foreign Investment Promotion Act, independent of the regular administrative system, and brings together professionals from various industries. Its core function is to accept, coordinate, and properly resolve complaints and various problems encountered by foreign-invested enterprises in their business development, comprehensively protecting their legitimate rights and interests.
At the meeting, Kim Doo-sik highlighted South Korea's unique "family doctor" system for foreign investment services. This mechanism assigns a dedicated expert to each foreign investment assistance case, implementing one-on-one precise matching, rapid assessment and diagnosis, and full-process follow-up and supervision, linking relevant departments to efficiently resolve obstacles and difficulties in the development of foreign-invested enterprises. With its efficient service model and comprehensive support system, this system has gained high recognition from numerous authoritative international organizations such as the OECD, the World Bank, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), becoming a benchmark case for optimizing foreign investment services and boosting investor confidence globally.
Kim Doo-sik stated that the Korean FIO fully recognizes Cambodia's investment and development potential and the effectiveness of its business environment optimization, and is willing to fully leverage its technological, institutional, and experiential advantages to provide comprehensive technical support for Cambodia in building a professional and standardized foreign investment protection and coordination mechanism, helping Cambodia to continuously optimize its business environment and improve the level of foreign investment services.
Sun Zhantuo warmly welcomed and sincerely thanked the Korean side for its support and cooperation. He pointed out that Cambodia has always adhered to the concept of open development and will continue to benchmark against advanced international business standards, actively learn from global best practices in foreign investment services, and continuously streamline administrative service processes, improve the efficiency of government services, and enhance the transparency of foreign investment policies. Next, Cambodia will focus on the standardized and routine operation of the "Korea Affairs Office" as a key initiative, continuously deepening the construction of a country-specific, refined, and professional foreign business service system. It will gradually introduce more precise service measures tailored to foreign-invested enterprises from different countries, continuously expanding the attractiveness of its foreign investment sector, attracting more high-quality foreign investment resources, and injecting strong momentum into Cambodia's high-quality, sustainable, and stable economic development.
