South Korea has been invited to invest in the Middle Corridor by Kazakhstan’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at the first Central Asia-Republic of Korea Business Summit held in Seoul last week. “The Government of Kazakhstan will establish a portfolio of investment projects for Korean partners.”
This builds on a sturdy business relationship between the two countries and suggests development of the Corridor looking likely to see critical minerals moved from Kazakhstan head East for Korea’s many high-tech industries. “We invite Korean companies to take the most active part in developing infrastructure projects along this route,” President Tokayev said.
Currently, around 85% of all land-based freight transportation between Asia and Europe goes through Kazakhstan. “Last year, container traffic along the Middle Corridor increased by 36%. A significant increase of 18% was also recorded in the first eight months of this year. Over the next two years, we plan to increase the route’s capacity from six to 10 million tonnes,” he added.
Rail freight between Kazakhstan and South Korea totaled 117,800 metric tons in 2025, including 116,900 metric tons of transit cargo. In the first half of 2026, freight traffic reportedly reached 43,700 metric tons, all of it transit cargo.
Looking East
The Corridor is likely to see minerals from Kazakhstan move East. “We produce copper, chromium, titanium and many other elements identified by the Government of Korea as priority strategic resources. Taking into account Korea’s advanced technological expertise, we propose establishing a pool of targeted, full-cycle investment projects covering geological exploration, extraction, deep processing and the production of critical materials,” the President noted.
In addition to critical minerals, cars might also use the Middle Corridor. Kazakhstan and Korea are already implementing 51 industrial projects worth more than 4 billion, Tokayev noted. He added that over 170,000 vehicles were produced in the Central Asian country, representing growth of nearly 18%. “The Hyundai and Kia plants made a significant contribution to this achievement. This provides a solid foundation for our further efforts aimed at increasing localisation and producing high-tech goods with high added value,” he added.
Agricultural products
Another important area is agricultural products as Korea is a big importer of its food. Tokayev noted Kazakhstan harvested a record grain crop of approximately 27 million tonnes last year and already exports to more than seventy countries worldwide. Tokayev suggested building on this by marrying his country’s land resources to Korea’s tech-driven farming which could see products moved further on.
“We propose combining our competitive advantages and establishing a joint food industry cluster focused on production, deep processing and exports to international markets. Kazakhstan offers Korean companies not merely a sizeable market, but broad opportunities to locate production facilities, introduce technologies and gain access to the markets of the Eurasian continent,” he said.