Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong. Korea Times file

By Lee Kyung-min

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong will attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 held in Las Vegas from Jan. 5 to Jan. 8, to enhance understanding of global technology trends, including urban air mobility (UAM), autonomous driving, smart city planning, digital healthcare and the metaverse, the ministry said Thursday.

The four-day trip accompanied by working-level junior ministry officials will, it added, help outline policy directives reflective of growing needs to integrate smart, IT-mediated services closely with the everyday life of the public, a sector the ministry considers the next growth driver of the IT powerhouse.

The annual event is the world's largest IT exhibition organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) held every January since 1967. The ministry has participated in the event since 2018. Around 3,000 exhibitors from 170 countries will join this year. Included are top local industry players Samsung, SK and LG.

The top transport policymaker will meet with JoeBen Bevirt, the founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, a mobility firm building a fully electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft optimized to deliver an air taxi service.

Also to have a one-on-one with the minister is Ben Tigner, CEO of Overair, a California-based firm that designs, develops and manufactures eVTOL aircraft for air taxi and aerial mobility operations.

Among the key topics of joint interest between the two CEOs will be ways to advance strategies to expedite the commercial verification of future mobility services.

The ministry will sign an agreement with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to expand the scope of joint cooperation to include urban mobility matters, a step further from the current one on aircraft operations and maintenance.

Won will meet with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Secretary of Department of Housing and Urban Development Marcia L. Fudge, to fortify cooperation in the future mobility and housing sectors.

Chief among the agenda items will be bilateral cooperation on setting technology standards, performance and safety certifications, as well as infrastructure building ― processes that need government assistance for strong local players to expand their presence and market influence in the U.S.

"We will map out policies to help businesses with global insights gained from this year's event," Won said. "The perspective of transport policymaking will add value to the country's growth path facing headwinds from global economic recession fears."