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SEOUL, South Korea — Two months ago, John C. Liu, New York City’s comptroller, said he was “heartbroken” that the state’s top Democrats, skittish about a federal investigation into his campaign fund-raising, had excluded him from their delegate list to the Democratic National Convention.

But this week, as most of the Democratic establishment, including all of his presumed major rivals in the 2013 race for mayor, gathers in Charlotte, N.C., Mr. Liu is doing his best to attract attention 7,000 miles away in Asia.

He is visiting Seoul and Taipei, Taiwan, as part of a four-day whirlwind trip that will feature at least 14 events, including audiences with the mayor of Seoul and the vice president of Taiwan. One of the highlights of the trip came on Tuesday, when he delivered a speech at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul to a packed auditorium of more than 230 people, including 100 exchange students from the State University of New York, Mr. Liu’s alma mater.

Mr. Liu, who was born in Taiwan but moved to New York as a child, said he was in Asia to promote business and investment opportunities for the city. The trip also promises to afford him a chance to connect with civic and business leaders who have ties to American immigrant communities and who could be potential donors, according to two people close to Mr. Liu.

The host governments are paying for Mr. Liu’s airfare and lodging, which is permissible under city rules.

In Seoul, many of Mr. Liu’s activities were arranged by Korea’s consulate in New York City, as well as by Mr. Liu’s office, according to the organizers. The organizers said they had discussed the federal inquiry into the comptroller’s campaign fund-raising, which so far has resulted in the arrests of his former treasurer and a top fund-raiser.

“I am aware that Mr. Liu’s staff is under investigation, and we had a staff meeting about this,” said Jang Tae-yeoub, dean of external affairs at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. “But we decided to go ahead with his visiting our university because the investigation is ongoing and not final.”

Park Yoon-joo, a director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said, “I do not think it is our business to get involved in those domestic political affairs,” before praising Mr. Liu as “a very active, promising leader fostering good relationships with various minority communities including the Korean-Americans.”

At times, Mr. Liu touched on the political issues being discussed in Charlotte. Asked about “the most crucial factor in passing the budget,” for instance, he offered a rousing defense of President Obama. He said that “in my opinion, from Day 1, there were some people in Washington who were determined to see President Obama fail,” and he criticized the Tea Party, particularly for “standing in the way and making life difficult for the president.”

Mr. Liu also addressed issues that would most likely be highlighted if he ran for mayor next year, including his aggressive auditing of city agencies, his desire to speed up infrastructure development and his personal history as an immigrant who was “made in Taiwan.”

The city’s “Asian-American population continues to grow, is talented and is clearly on the move as they serve as our bridge to Asia,” he said to his audience at Hankuk University. “I want all of you to help me build that bridge,” he added, before saying, “Gamsahamnida,” which means “thank you” in Korean.

This week’s trip is the fourth that Mr. Liu has taken overseas since becoming comptroller in January 2010, but his first since November 2010. From Seoul, he flew to Taiwan — his birthplace and the island of origin of many of the immigrants who are a dominant force in his Flushing neighborhood. His schedule included visits to two cabinet ministries and an address to the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance.

Even in Seoul, which is 6,885 miles from New York, Mr. Liu was asked about his possible candidacy for mayor.

“I can’t believe I am in Seoul and people are still asking me that question,” he said at one point.

At a 7-Eleven outside the university after his speech, Mr. Liu acknowledged that he had given the idea some thought. “People say that I would be a different kind of mayor,” he said, after buying a bottle of Korean corn tea and a pack of dried squid. “I think it would be obvious why.”

Su Hyun Lee reported from Seoul, and David W. Chen from New York.
Amid Fund-Raising Inquiry, Comptroller John Liu Tours Asia