The cabinet has acknowledged the National Anti-Corruption Commission's proposal to tighten supervision of state officials who illegally charge their personal electric vehicles using government electricity and to impose penalties as prescribed by law. On May 26, 2025, Deputy Government Spokesperson Ploythale Luksameelangchan announced after the cabinet meeting that the cabinet approved a report on findings and actions to gather input from government agencies regarding recommendations aimed at preventing corruption and conflicts between private and public interests. The case concerns state officials who charge their private electric vehicles using government, state enterprise, or state agency electricity without authorization, as proposed by the Office of the Civil Service Commission and reported to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Government agencies, state enterprises, and state organizations must comply with guidelines established by the Royal Property Department for installing EV charging equipment and charging stations for government and local administrative organization vehicles. They must also strictly adhere to relevant regulations and practices, including state official ethics, internal welfare provisions, and proper use of government property for official purposes. Agency heads must supervise their staff to comply with these guidelines, particularly those set by the Royal Property Department, for the benefit of the administration. The deputy government spokesperson stated that the Cabinet agreed to enforce the guidelines already established by the Royal Property Department since March 7, 2024. Violations will result in penalties under the law. Previously, the National Anti-Corruption Commission proposed making illegal free EV charging at government agencies a criminal offense for theft of government electricity, carrying both imprisonment and fines.

Tourism officials project positive momentum for the coming week, with the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha expected to drive increased visitor numbers from the Middle East as regional conditions stabilize. Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Panjarearnwalkul revealed that Thailand accumulated 13,428,857 foreign tourists from January 1 to May 24, 2026, generating 653,986 million baht in revenue. The top five source countries were China with 2,237,215 visitors, Malaysia with 1,552,217, India with 1,003,993, Russia with 928,774, and South Korea with 525,550.

This week saw 520,536 foreign tourists, up 51,363 arrivals or 10.95% from the previous week, averaging 74,362 visitors daily. Indian market arrivals have reached over one million cumulative visitors. The top five source countries this week were Malaysia (92,275), China (85,317), India (55,033), Taiwan (17,318), and the United States (16,937). Malaysian, Indian, Taiwanese, and American visitors showed increases of 32.87%, 10.07%, 8.08%, and 7.46% respectively, while Chinese arrivals declined 1.25%.

Minister Surasak indicated that next week should see further increases due to promotional factors including the Eid al-Adha holiday in the Middle East and Asian regions, Thailand's stabilizing energy situation, globally aligned pricing, and enhanced safety image initiatives under the Trusted Thailand program.

SEOUL, South Korea — One person has been killed and another is in cardiac arrest after a section of an overpass collapsed during demolition works in western Seoul on Tuesday, trapping workers beneath the rubble.

The incident occurred at around 14:32 at the Seosomun overpass demolition site in Seodaemun-gu. Part of the road deck gave way while crews were carrying out demolition work, leaving an estimated six people and one demolition vehicle trapped underneath.

Emergency services reached the scene within six minutes. A Level 1 emergency response was declared shortly after, bringing 62 rescue personnel, 16 vehicles, and five additional ambulances to the site. Around 30 police officers were also deployed.

By Tuesday afternoon, four of those trapped had been pulled out. One died at the scene and another was found in cardiac arrest. Two people remained unaccounted for, with rescue teams still working to reach them.

The collapse forced a suspension of train services between Seoul Station and Sinchon Station, disrupting the Gyeongui Line and nearby routes, according to state railway operator Korail.

The incident cast a shadow over the city's upcoming mayoral race. Both frontrunners in the 3 June election halted campaigning and headed to the site. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok issued an emergency directive ordering all relevant agencies to maximise rescue efforts, identify nearby medical facilities, and ensure injured people were transported quickly to minimise casualties.

The Korea Herald reported that authorities have yet to determine the exact cause of the collapse.

Thai Military Bank (TTB) released its SME Insight 2026 survey showing Thai entrepreneurs facing mounting pressures from sluggish economic growth, high household debt, rising business costs, and intense competition from Chinese imports. Most SMEs remain stuck in "survival thinking" rather than growth planning, even as they begin adopting digital tools and AI. TTB is meanwhile pushing ahead with double-digit expansion of new SME lending after seeing signs the market has bottomed out, while maintaining strict control over non-performing loans at no more than 5%.

Pirpong Nitikraivut, head of TTB's business customer strategy group, revealed that while SMEs account for over 90% of all Thai businesses and employ more than 70% of the workforce—approximately 13.6 million people—they contribute only about one-third of the country's GDP. This reflects declining competitiveness among Thai SMEs compared to developed economies like South Korea, where SMEs generate 45-50% of GDP. Thailand's SME contribution has fallen from nearly 40% historically to just one-third today.

"SMEs are the backbone of Thailand's economy, but today they're stuck in place while the world moves forward," Pirpong said. "Their competitiveness is declining as a result."

Key pressures stem from Thailand's sluggish 2-3% annual economic growth, far below regional peers, while household debt remains near 90% of GDP, weakening domestic purchasing power. Thai entrepreneurs also face fierce competition from surging Chinese imports flooding the region as China's exports to the US slump. Geopolitical factors and trade tensions meanwhile continue pushing up operating costs for energy, transportation, raw materials, and online platform fees.

"Many entrepreneurs consistently report that rising costs are the biggest pressure. Some businesses barely make any profit but must maintain sales just to keep operating," Pirpong said.

The SME Insight 2026 survey of over 120 entrepreneurs across Bangkok and the provinces, covering businesses with annual revenues of 50-400 million baht, identified the first critical bottleneck: "Thinking to survive, not to win." Many entrepreneurs focus on short-term problem-solving rather than building competitive advantages or long-term planning. The survey found 33% of SMEs have virtually no long-term business plan or only year-to-year planning, while 27% say their primary goal is simply keeping the business running and meeting payroll. "Those focused only on survival saw revenue drops exceeding 30%, with some declining nearly 50%," Pirpong noted.

The second bottleneck is "Using digital tools but not transforming the business." While 87% of Thai SMEs have adopted digital systems for management and nearly 60% have begun applying AI, most use them at basic levels—payment systems, translation, or report summaries. Meanwhile, over 58% of businesses saw flat or declining revenues. Pirpong stressed that maximizing technology benefits requires integrating financial data, accounting, sales, personnel, and customer information for strategic analysis and management.

The third bottleneck involves "Knowing profit and loss but not managing risk." While 90% of SMEs now use accounting systems and better understand costs, they lack analysis of cash flow, credit, and volatile cost risks. A fourth bottleneck related to growth capacity was also identified in the survey.

Thailand's Digital Economy Ministry has launched an intensified crackdown on fraudsters illegally posing as the Thailand Helps Thailand Plus (60/40) program to commit online crimes. As of May 25, 2025, authorities have identified 327,346 messages related to the program, with 39 confirmed cases including 20 pieces of misinformation, 3 distorted reports, and 16 legitimate posts. The ministry is urging the public to be cautious and follow the "four don'ts" principle: don't click links, don't believe unverified claims, don't rush, and don't transfer money. Deputy Minister Boonthida Samchai emphasized that the only official way to register for the program is through the "Pao Tang" mobile application, while previous "Khon La Khreung Plus" participants can verify eligibility through the "Tung Ngern" app. New merchants must register at Bangkok Bank branches. The ministry clarified that government agencies will never send SMS messages or links requesting program registration, so citizens should disregard any such communications.

Shocking! Investigation Reveals Launching Gantry Crane Collapse onto Train at Sikhiu Left 31 Dead, Never Inspected During Operation, Failed to Replace Support Steel on Schedule, No On-Site Engineer

May 26, 2025 – Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Transport Jiraphong Theppitag announced investigation results into the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway construction crane that collapsed onto Express Train No. 21 running between Bangkok and Ubon Ratchathani, in the area between Nong Nam Khun and Sikhiu stations in Nakhon Ratchasima province on January 14, resulting in 31 deaths and 71 injuries.

Jiraphong stated that after an intensive 45-day investigation, the engineering accident was caused by a Launching Gantry crane—a mobile steel bridge that lifts hundreds of tons of concrete segments to place them sequentially. The crane stands on three support legs with clear procedures requiring that before moving forward, the middle leg must first be brought close to the front leg to help bear the load together.

However, on the day of the incident, workers bypassed this procedure and immediately ordered the crane to move. This caused over 700 tons of weight to press down on the front leg alone. The support steel (PT Bar) could not withstand the force and broke, causing the crane foundation to collapse onto the train passing below.

The committee found this was not a single worker's error but a systemic failure involving all parties:

Party 1: Contractor (Italian-Thai Construction Company)

1.1 Bypassed established procedures in the manual by failing to move the middle leg close to the front leg before operating the crane—a mandatory step in the work procedure. Site engineers and work supervisors admitted they regularly omitted this step.

1.2 Work commenced without authorization. The site engineer instructed the team to start at 08:00 without waiting for work approval and without notifying the supervising engineer, claiming the supervisor was late.

1.3 Failed to request train service closure. There was no notification to Thai Railways to suspend train operations while working above the railway tracks, despite the contract clearly requiring this. The only evidence found was a request for Window Time between January 20-30, which was after the incident date.

1.4 Failed to replace support steel on schedule. The construction supervision consultant (CSC) had circulated notices since 2023 requiring PT Bar support steel replacement every 60 operational cycles, but the contractor claimed not to know despite previous incidents in 2023 on the Rama II Expressway Project generating similar warning notices.

1.5 Failed to conduct crane safety inspections according to legal schedules every three months. Inspection cycles were found to be delayed, and certification documents only covered 1 of 4 lifting equipment sets that should have been inspected.

Party 2: Construction Supervision Consultant (CSC)

2.1 No full-time on-site engineer or safety officer. CSC's safety staff visited the site only 1-2 times per week, and the supervising engineer was not constantly present.

2.2 Clear behavioral violations were found: work approvals were signed in advance for multiple days at a time, and backdated signatures were found up to three weeks late. CSC management was aware but took no corrective action, constituting serious dereliction of duty.

2.3 The crane was never inspected throughout its operational period. Neither CSC engineers nor safety staff ever directly inspected the crane's condition and operating procedures, not even once.

Party 3: State Railway of Thailand (SRT)

3.1 Overloaded assignments. The project engineer supervising Contract 3-4 where the incident occurred was assigned to oversee five contracts simultaneously, while other contracts with more intensive oversight had one-to-one engineer assignments. As a result, Contract 3-4 received inadequate supervision.