TikTok said on the 9th that it signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to support Korean corporations' entry into the Southeast Asian market.
The agreement was prepared by TikTok's Southeast Asia business unit (TikTok SEA) and the SBA to expand export channels for Seoul small and midsize companies by leveraging the TikTok Shop ecosystem, and it was also linked to the city of Seoul's tour of Southeast Asia.
TikTok Shop combines short-form content and commerce to enable purchases without leaving the app, showing a high conversion rate, with 3 out of 4 users in Southeast Asia having made a purchase. Based on this, TikTok plans to support Seoul small and midsize companies with effective marketing and sales channels.
TikTok recently launched the "Korea-SEA cross-border solution," which allows the opening of TikTok Shop in five countries—Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia—with only a Korean business registration certificate, and provides logistics, payments and settlement as a one-stop service.
Kim Hyun-woo, president and CEO of the Seoul Business Agency, said, "As market diversification for Seoul corporations is essential, we will lay the groundwork for entry into the Southeast Asian market through a partnership with TikTok."
Shin Sung-pil, deputy head of public policy at TikTok Korea, said, "As a corporate citizen that cooperates with public institutions, TikTok will actively support Korean small and midsize companies in going global."