South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on Sunday that Vice Minister Ryu Je-myung will attend CES 2026 in Las Vegas from Monday to Thursday as the ministry's representative to review the latest AI industry trends.

This year's CES will feature about 4,500 global companies. South Korea will be represented by about 700 companies, including conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics and Doosan, as well as small and venture firms in digital innovation. South Korea received 211 of a total 367 innovation awards this year.

A delegation led by Ryu will visit and encourage Korean AI and digital companies at the venue and listen to their difficulties. It will also review the latest technology trends at global AI and semiconductor companies such as Nvidia, Meta and Qualcomm.

After attending CES, the ministry's delegation will hold back-to-back high-level meetings with Nvidia and OpenAI in San Francisco. The meetings will discuss ways to cooperate globally on AI for South Korea to leap into an Asia-Pacific AI hub. The delegation will also take part in an event hosted by UKF (United Korean Founders), described as the largest community of Korean entrepreneurs in the United States, to share its AI policy vision.

Ryu said the ministry will properly understand what is happening on the ground to respond swiftly to rapid shifts in the AI market, including physical AI, and will actively support technology innovation and overseas expansion by Korean companies, which he called key players in the push to become one of the world's top three AI powers.