Korean chaebol chiefs to kick off new year at CES, Davos Forum

Clockwise from top left, Jay Y. Lee, Chey Tae-won, Shin Dong-bin, Koo Kwang-mo, Euisun Chung

Chiefs of South Korea’s top conglomerates are set to start off the new year with overseas business trips to attend the world’s biggest tech event in Las Vegas and Davos Forum in Switzerland as they gear to strengthen business strategies and check industry trends.

According to multiple sources from the conglomerate circle on Sunday, chiefs of Korea’s top five conglomerates Jay Y. Lee of Samsung Electronics, Chey Tae-won of SK Group, Euisun Chung of Hyundai Motor Group, Koo Kwang-mo of LG Group and Shin Dong-bin of Lotte Group will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) being held between Jan. 16 and 20 in Davos, Switzerland. Other executives will also be there, including POSCO Holdings Chairman Choi Jeong-woo, Hanwha Solutions Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, GS Caltex Chief Executive Officer Hur Sae-hong and Hyundai Heavy Industries Group’s holding company CEO Chung Ki-sun. Chey Jae-won, senior vice chairman at SK and younger brother of SK Group Chairman Chey, and Kim Dong-won, vice president at Hanwha Life Insurance, and Kim Dong-seon, executive director at Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, both younger brothers of Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim, will also join the forum.

WEF, also known as the Davos Forum, is an annual event taking place in January that brings together leaders and experts from around the world to discuss global issues. Business leaders from Korea are expected to exchange views with other industry leaders on a string of global challenges from inflation, supply chain crisis, U.S.-China conflict, and Russia-Ukraine war.

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) led by SK Group Chairman Chey plans to hold a Korean Night event on the sidelines of the Davos Forum where all of the conglomerate chiefs are known to attend.

The event will introduce policy direction of the Yoon Suk-yeol government and outstanding technology of Korean companies. It will also ask participants to support Korea’s hosting of 2030 World EXPO in Busan.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Chung, in the meantime, flew to Doha, Qatar on Friday and personally attended the final World Cup match between Argentina and France. The auto giant is an official partner of FIFA and is a top-tier partner. Chung during his visit is expected to discuss extending its sponsorship.

Korean business leaders, including SK Group Chairman Chey, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee and LG Electronics Inc. CEO Cho Joo-wan, are also attending CES being held from Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas.

Han, head of Device eXperience (DX) division at Samsung Electronics, will introduce “hyper connected era” and technologies related to “calm-tech” at CES. Calm tech refers to various digital services used by consumers with smallest possible amount of attention.

SK Group will unveil dozens of environmentally-friendly future technology products such as electric vehicle batteries, high-efficient chips, carbon capture and storage technology, and urban air mobility. Auto parts manufacturer Hyundai Mobis Co. under Hyundai Motor Group will introduce future mobility technologies such as electric system-based autonomous vehicle and purpose-based mobility at its largest-ever 780-square-meter booth.