"Early this year, overseas trips by lawmakers have picked up again. Last year, because of martial law and the impeachment fallout, they couldn't go abroad at all."
A senior aide who has long worked at the National Assembly said this during a phone call with a reporter on the 4th. Starting on the 3rd of this month, more than 20 lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties are said to be visiting CES 2026, held in Las Vegas and San Francisco.
CES, the world's largest IT and home appliance exhibition, is held every January when the National Assembly is not in session, making it a popular event for lawmakers seeking the latest trends. But in Jan. last year, with the aftereffects of the Dec. 3 martial law and the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol still lingering, not a single lawmaker reportedly went to CES.
A year later, this year more lawmakers departed than usual to visit CES. Among them, members of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee stand out. Lawmakers Wi Seong-gon (Democratic Party of Korea), Park Ji-hye (Democratic Party of Korea), Kim So-hee (People Power Party), Kim Joo-young (Democratic Party of Korea), Kim Hyeong-dong (People Power Party) and Lee So-young (Democratic Party of Korea) plan to visit CES from the 4th to the 10th. They are said to be focusing on technology trends in climate and energy rather than general IT trends. They plan to tour the booths of domestic climate and energy corporations such as Samsung, Doosan, Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), and Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water), and to explore ways to help Korean corporations enter overseas markets.
In addition, Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee Chairperson Lee Cheol-gyu (People Power Party), Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee Chairperson Maeng Sung-kyu (Democratic Party of Korea), and Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee Chairperson Choi Min-hee (Democratic Party of Korea), along with lawmakers from the industry, land and science committees of both the ruling and opposition parties, also plan to visit CES.
An official at the National Assembly said it is "to identify trends in innovative technologies in future industries such as AI, robots, bio and mobility, and to seek support measures at the National Assembly level to foster advanced industries." By holding meetings with domestic corporations in each standing committee's area of jurisdiction, they plan to hear corporations' difficulties and devise legal and institutional measures.
During CES, some lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties are also said to be visiting the Korean Cultural Center, Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), and the National Pension Service's local offices in places such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers are traveling to the Middle East. The National Assembly has parliamentary friendship associations that engage with various countries, and early this year itineraries were set to visit Middle Eastern countries including Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. The delegation of the Korea-Algeria, -Tunisia and -Egypt Parliamentary Friendship Associations will visit the counterpart countries from the 4th to the 13th to carry out parliamentary diplomacy. The delegation of the Korea-Jordan and -Israel Parliamentary Friendship Associations will also visit their counterpart countries from the 9th to the 17th.
A political source said, "Parliamentary diplomacy is another important means to resolve issues that are difficult to address at the government level," adding, "With the president's tour raising interest and expectations for economic cooperation with Korea in the Middle East, parliamentary diplomacy can also play an important role."
On this, National Assembly aide A said, "In the past, not a few lawmakers caused problems with actions that did not align with the purpose of overseas trips," and added, "Since lawmakers are paid with taxpayers' money, I hope these overseas trips become solid study trips for the public good."