Attendees walk under a CES sign during CES 2024 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Jan. 10 in Las Vegas. AFP-Yonhap
Major tech firms seek breakthrough at CES 2025
By Lee Min-hyung
Samsung, LG and SK are scaling back their external promotional activities in the wake of Korea’s abrupt fall into a state of national crisis following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived attempt to impose martial law on the nation last week.
Industry officials said Thursday that most of the top leaders of domestic conglomerates are unlikely to deliver their customary year-end messages this year, as ongoing political turmoil casts a shadow over industries nationwide.
Officials from major tech firms here said their top priority is to now fine-tune their managerial strategies while avoiding fancy events that may invite unnecessary controversy amid political uncertainties.
“Most big companies here do not want to draw any unnecessary media spotlight, so they are on track to cancel or delay their planned promotional events to 2025,” an official from a conglomerate said.
They, instead, are moving to share their management strategies at CES 2025 in January in Las Vegas.
“Given the symbolic image of CES as the world’s largest tech fair, it does not come as a huge burden for Korean conglomerates to promote their new products and vision there, even if Korea’s political chaos may not settle down until the timeline,” the official said.
Protesters attend a rally calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, after he declared martial law, which was reversed just hours later, in Seoul, Monday. Reuters-Yonhap
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won will fly to the U.S. for CES 2025 for his possibly high-profile meeting with Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang.
SK hynix, the core chip affiliate of the group, is forecast to achieve record-high earnings this year on soaring demand for the firm’s high-bandwidth memory chips in the era of artificial intelligence.
SK Telecom will set up its booth to showcase its latest network technologies.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee will also attend the upcoming tech show for a keynote speech. LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan is also ready to deliver the firm’s next growth strategies during CES 2025.
Another official from a major tech firm said conglomerates and their leaders will have to redirect their strategic focus on the U.S. market ahead of the planned inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
“The role of CES has become more important for the tech leaders here, as they can monitor the overall business sentiment in the world’s largest economy ahead of the looming era of Trump,” the official said.
LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun will also visit CES 2025 to keep up to date with the latest tech trends for the global electric power equipment market.
English (United States) ·