On the 9th (local time), at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, USA, Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Chairman Jin-sik Yoon met with Gary Shapiro, Chairman of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer of CES, to discuss ways to revitalize the exhibition industry and cooperate with startups.
Also attending this interview were Chairman Yoon Jin-sik, Chairman Choi Myung-bae of Exicon, and COEX CEO Lee Dong-gi, who visited the United States as part of the CES 2025 delegation.
In the interview, Chairman Yoon said, “I congratulate the CTA on its 100th anniversary and the successful hosting of CES,” and added, “The Korea International Trade Association has COEX, Korea’s leading exhibition organizer and exhibition hall operator, as its subsidiary, and plans to make various efforts to foster exhibitions and revitalize the industry through the ‘MICE Planning Office’ newly established through this year’s organizational restructuring.”
He also noted, "Since 2018, the trade association has been actively supporting startups' overseas expansion through various initiatives, including hosting 'NextRise,' Korea's largest startup exhibition, and conducting testbed projects in the US and Europe." He emphasized that given the CTA's dedication to hosting exhibitions and fostering startups, collaboration between the two organizations could create synergy effects, expanding the startup ecosystems in both countries and revitalizing exhibitions.
Given the strong interest in CES among Asian companies, the two organizations also discussed holding a CES Unveiled event at COEX next year or resuming the currently suspended CES ASIA in Seoul. CES Unveiled, a small-scale exhibition and conference program leading up to CES, includes an introduction to the upcoming CES and is held in major cities such as Las Vegas and Amsterdam. CES ASIA, which was held in Shanghai since 2015, was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn.
In response, Chairman Gary Shapiro said, “We would like to continue discussing ways to cooperate in exhibitions by leveraging the competitiveness of Korean industries, such as semiconductors and batteries, including the exchange of exhibition experts.”
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