Thanakorn bids farewell as Minister of Industry, revealing that during his six-month tenure he was happy and steadfast in his principles. Despite some friction in his work, everyone remained focused on solving problems for the people.
On 30 Mar 2026 GMT+7, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, Minister of Industry, accompanied by Surapong Namchairujipong, Assistant Minister of Industry; Ploylapas Singthong, Ministerial Advisor; and Jirattikal Chantratip from the Prime Minister's Secretariat, visited the ministry to mark his departure. Natthaphol Rangsitpol, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, along with senior executives, civil servants, and staff warmly welcomed them.
Thanakorn expressed gratitude for the warm reception from the ministry's civil servants since he first took office. Over more than six months, he worked diligently to resolve and initiate tangible projects, such as ending the over eight-year Akara gold mine dispute to restore foreign investor confidence; injecting over 30 billion baht into SMEs to enhance liquidity and preserve jobs, helping them sustain operations; establishing a dedicated task force to crack down on illegal factories and pollution nationwide, reducing economic and social damages by over 2 billion baht; implementing a real-time PM2.5 monitoring system in 760 factories to raise industrial standards sustainably; managing hazardous industrial waste and eliminating more than 60,000 tons of illegal batteries; providing nationwide vocational training; promoting Thai cuisine soft power by developing over 20,000 professional chefs to boost grassroots economic value; and achieving a sugarcane burning reduction target with over 96.6% acceptance of fresh cane this year, surpassing goals.
“I have felt happy every time I worked with the Ministry of Industry staff. Although there were some frictions from various factors, I firmly believe that both I and the ministry’s civil servants adhered to the right principles and dedicated ourselves to solving problems as the public expects. I have witnessed the ministry’s impact on the people, with many initiatives driving the economy and genuinely helping the public,” Thanakorn said.
Afterward, the Minister of Industry and his delegation paid respects to the ministry’s sacred figures, including Phra Phum and Phra Narai. Executives, civil servants, employees, and staff from the Ministry of Industry participated in seeing them off before departing the ministry.
