South Korea is investing 240 billion baht (through 2027) to build sovereign AI capabilities—including independent LLMs and semiconductor supply chains—while Thailand is spending 1.6 billion baht on the TH-AI Passport to provide free AI tool access to 5 million citizens. This reflects fundamentally different strategies: South Korea targets long-term technological ownership and leverage, while Thailand prioritizes rapid AI literacy and broad public access. For Thai SMEs, this highlights the distinct positioning of Thailand in the regional AI race and raises questions about long-term sustainability of access-based versus ownership-based approaches.