Czech Railway Industry Makes Strong Impression in South Korea
17.10.2025 / 03:30 | Aktualizováno: 03.11.2025 / 03:36
A large delegation of Czech companies operating in the railway transport segment, under the umbrella of the business association ACRI and accompanied by the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, traveled to South Korea in mid-October. Nine Czech companies, not only at a B2B forum in Seoul but also during a series of meetings in other cities, demonstrated the competitiveness of Czech solutions and the potential to establish cooperation with local partners, not only within Korea, but also in third markets. In addition to products and components, the Czech railway industry offers special technologies and facilities for testing and certification activities, which are attractive to Korean stakeholders. Therefore, cooperation can also be developed in the field of research and development, with consideration given to connecting professional institutions, universities, and Korean entities. The mission may thus be followed by further visits either in the Czech Republic or through meetings at sector-specific and trade events.
The South Korean railway industry is among the most technologically advanced in Asia and is undergoing a period of intensive modernization and internationalization. According to data from the Korea Railway Association (KORASS), the size of the Korean railway market reached approximately USD 15.8 billion in 2024. Current key topics include: the high-speed rail segment, driven by the construction of new lines and expansion of existing ones; the segment of urban and metro railways, fueled by growing urbanization and commuter needs; digital control systems within infrastructure, with an emphasis on smart solutions; the maintenance and services segment, related to the growth and aging of the railway network; and sustainable technologies, including hydrogen and electric propulsion systems. South Korea’s future plans and strategies for its railway sector are outlined in the 4th Basic Plan for Railway Industry Development for 2021–2025. It focuses on: the railway industry ecosystem — internationalization of technologies (ETCS Level 3 signaling, 400 km/h high-speed rail standard); supporting expansion abroad; railway operations — intelligent and autonomous control (unmanned systems Level 4, expansion of KTCS-M); transport integration (RaaS platform, GTX transfer hubs); railway construction — strengthening the network of main lines (semi-high-speed rail, GTX A/B/C); expansion of metropolitan railways (with emphasis on four main regional cities); improving efficiency (integrated BIM management, private-sector support centers); and railway safety — intelligent safety (IoT sensors, AI CCTV, RAFIS system, unmanned transport standard).
In mid-October, a large delegation of Czech companies representing ACRI and accompanied by the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, led by the Director of the Department of International Relations and EU Affairs, Mr. Zdeněk Čechura, visited South Korea. The program included meetings at the political level with governmental counterparts and representatives of the South Korean railway administration. On the business side, the Czech Embassy, in cooperation with the most important Korean association in the railway sector, KORASS, organized a B2B forum in Seoul, followed by meetings with major partners in the Korean market such as the Korea Railroad Research Institute, Hyundai Rotem, Woojin, and KORAIL. Technical visits also took place to Seoul Metro, Busan Metro, and the Seoul Transport Operation & Information Service.
Additional important information about this sector of the Korean market can be found at the links below:
1. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport: https://www.molit.go.kr/english/intro.do
2. Korea National Railway: https://english.kr.or.kr/
3. The Korea Railway Industry Association*: https://www.korass.or.kr/kr/main.do
* website in Korean only
B2B meetings
Delegation's visit
Interested Czech companies can contact the Commercial Department of the Czech Embassy in Seoul at: seoul.commerce@mzv.gov.cz .
Jakub Kopecký, head of the commercial department of the Czech Embassy