As the dust settles on CES 2025, Korean tech companies face a sobering question: Is the annual Las Vegas pilgrimage worth the billions of Korean won invested?

The uncomfortable truth: CES has become what industry insiders call a "Las Vegas Fantasy Show" for Korean companies—an expensive national ritual with diminishing returns.

THE HOLLOW VICTORY

The statistics reveal the contradiction. While Korean companies dominated the Innovation Awards, only 18.1% of these award-winning startups secured any investment following CES. Just one company attracted foreign investment—a damning statistic for an event meant to facilitate global market entry.

More revealing still: 85% of Korean participants attended with government or corporate subsidies, essentially turning CES into a government-funded showcase rather than a business necessity.

"CES has become a domestic marketing tool masquerading as a global business strategy," says Shana Kim, a global startup consultant who works with Korean tech companies. "Companies proudly display their Innovation Award in Seoul office lobbies, but rarely can they point to actual business deals that resulted."

THE MISSING DECISION-MAKERS

Four critical limitations have emerged at mega-exhibitions like CES:

First, genuine decision-makers with purchasing authority no longer attend. The C-suite executives who could greenlight partnerships now send mid-level teams or skip the event entirely.

Second, truly innovative IP holders are increasingly absent. Apple, Google, and Microsoft have abandoned CES for their own proprietary events, leaving the floor dominated by flashy but often hollow displays.

Third, most exhibited technologies remain in beta stages, too underdeveloped to attract serious users or partners.

Finally, professional investors with real capital have largely migrated away from the noise of CES toward more specialized, industry-specific gatherings.

A NEW APPROACH

Forward-thinking Korean companies are quietly shifting strategies. Instead of the 2 billion won typically invested in a major CES presence, they're allocating 100-200 million won to targeted regional events: the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Energy Forum, Boston's healthcare technology conferences, Silicon Valley's AI summits.

"At smaller events, we have meaningful conversations that actually lead to partnerships," explains a New York-based Korean tech entrepreneur. "At CES, we're just another logo in a sea of noise."

Some companies are establishing follow-up programs using New York as a strategic base, conducting technical demos and user experience sessions that target specific industries after the general exposure of CES.

THE CROSSROADS

As preparations for CES 2026 begin, Korean tech stands at a crossroads. Will it continue the expensive annual ritual, measuring success by participation numbers and award counts? Or will it pivot toward strategies that prioritize substantive business outcomes over flashy displays?

"The question isn't whether to abandon CES entirely," says a KOTRA official speaking on background. "It's whether we need 1,000 companies there, or a carefully selected 50 with proper follow-up support."

For a nation that has transformed itself from technology follower to innovation leader, the next evolution may require leaving behind the comforting illusion of Vegas spotlights for the challenging reality of global markets.