Las vegas: The science ministry and major South Korean tech firms have discussed strategy measures for physical artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026, officials said Thursday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Second Vice Science Minister Ryu Je-myung met with officials from Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc., and Hyundai Motor Group at the global tech trade show under way in Las Vegas on Wednesday (U.S. time). The meeting focused on strategies to respond to the latest trends in the global technology industry and measures to solidify South Korea's leadership in the AI sector.

"As we can see from this year's CES, we are getting closer to the era of physical AI as the application of the technology expands from consumers' daily lives to industrial sites," Ryu was quoted as saying by the ministry. The government and companies focused on sharing ideas to foster the country's physical AI industry, which refers to AI integrated into physical systems such as robots and autonomous vehicles.

The companies stressed the need to work closely with the government to utilize South Korea's strong manufacturing ground and its research and development (R and D) capacity.