The enthusiasm of Korean corporations to participate in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which will be held next month in Las Vegas, appears likely to remain subdued. At one time, companies from a wide range of industries, including shipbuilding, energy and chemicals, as well as IT and mobility, took part in the event, but several firms are said to have decided to scale back their displays or skip participation altogether next year.
◇ SK, Hyundai Motor to scale down displays… HD Hyundai to skip for a second year
According to the business community on the 9th, Korean corporations setting up exhibits at "CES 2026," which opens Jan. 6 (local time), are Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor and Doosan.
A representative corporation that has drastically reduced its participation compared with previous years is SK. Since 2019 through this year, SK has gathered affiliates in IT, telecommunications and energy—such as SK hynix, SK Telecom, SKC and SK Innovation—to run a large-scale exhibition hall. However, at next year's CES, most affiliates will not take part, and only SK hynix plans to operate a small exhibition space and business meeting rooms.
There is speculation that SK Group's decision to downsize its exhibition is related to weak results at several affiliates excluding SK hynix. SK Innovation is struggling in its petrochemicals and electric-vehicle battery businesses, and SK Telecom has endured a major hacking incident this year.
Following last year, SK Group is again carrying out intensive restructuring under the name OI (Operation Improvement). Through personnel moves implemented on the 4th, the group cut the total number of executives by 10%, and some affiliates also conducted voluntary retirement. The business community says SK decided to significantly scale back its participation in next year's CES to focus on strengthening fundamentals rather than setting up a flashy, large-scale exhibition hall without any notable new technologies.
HD Hyundai has reportedly decided, as it did this year, not to participate in next year's CES. HD Hyundai had taken part for three consecutive years starting in 2022. Chairman Chung Ki-sun of HD Hyundai also delivered a keynote speech at last year's CES.
In the business community, the reason for HD Hyundai's absence is seen as Chairman Chung, who assumed the chairmanship in Oct., needing to focus on groupwide management early in his tenure. There is also analysis that the timing for Chung and HD Hyundai to concentrate on "MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again)," a Korea–U.S. shipbuilding cooperation project, influenced the decision not to participate.
Hyundai Motor Group has also decided to scale down the event. Hyundai Motor has secured the largest exhibition space in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), where next year's CES will be held. However, the SDV division, which has led advanced software development, is expected to be excluded from Hyundai's exhibit.
Many analysts say the decision to drop the SDV division stems from Hyundai Motor's recent weak results in developing full self-driving technology. While Tesla and General Motors (GM) are successively commercializing full self-driving technology, Hyundai Motor has fallen behind in the technological race.
Motional, Hyundai Motor Group's autonomous driving subsidiary, ranked 15th out of 20 corporations in the "2024 Autonomous Driving Leaderboard" released last year by U.S. technology consulting firm Guidehouse. Recently, President Song Chang-hyun, who led the SDV division, also expressed an intention to step down.
Along with this, Hyundai Motor has decided to exclude Urban Air Mobility (UAM), which has failed to deliver results despite large-scale investment in recent years, from its exhibition list. Instead, it is said to be planning to showcase technologies centered on robots, as well as related to hydrogen, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing at this CES.
◇ Lowered stature of CES also a factor… fewer new-tech unveilings and a Chinese showcase
Some analysts say the changed stature of CES has had a significant impact on Korean corporations scaling down their participation. In the past, CES was an event where cutting-edge technologies and the direction of future industries were unveiled in various fields, including mobility as well as IT. Recently, however, standout new technologies have decreased and corporations have focused on their own events, diminishing CES' importance.
In the mobility sector, excluding players like Hyundai Motor Group, which participates every two years, European, Japanese and U.S. automakers are increasingly staying away. Among German automakers, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen plan to skip next year's CES. Toyota of Japan, which presented its vision for the future city "Woven City" at CES 2020, has also decided not to participate.
In IT, Chinese firms are filling the gaps left by Korea and Japan. China's electronics company TCL will operate the largest exhibition space in the Central Hall of the LVCC, where IT corporations gather next year. Another Chinese corporation, Hisense, will set up a similarly sized booth opposite TCL. Chinese robot vacuum maker Dreame will also open a fairly large exhibition nearby.
By contrast, Samsung Electronics, which has run a large-scale exhibition in the Central Hall every year, plans to open a standalone showroom at a hotel in Las Vegas next year. While the goal is to highlight its future technology vision and new products more effectively, some interpret the move as a response to Chinese companies planning large booths nearby to square off against Samsung Electronics.
A business community source said, "Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics has not attended CES for more than 12 years since 2013," adding, "It seems CES is increasingly being seen by conglomerate heads and corporations as an 'event without substance.'"