A top South Korean official has proposed a tax on artificial intelligence (AI) profits to be redistributed among society as a semiconductor boom drives massive earnings for technology giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
The two South Korean firms have emerged as key suppliers of high-performance chips powering AI infrastructure globally, posting record first-quarter earnings as global demand surges.
South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI has rallied over the past month, repeatedly hitting record highs and yesterday also briefly coming within a whisker of the key 8,000-point mark.
Photo: EPA
South Korea was no longer operating as a traditional export economy and could be shifting toward a “technology monopoly economy” driven by scarcity of chips and sustained excess profits, South Korean Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy Kim Yong-beom said in a social media post late on Monday.
While the shift toward a technology-dominant economy represented “the core essence of the possibilities currently open before [South] Korea,” Kim warned that it could also deepen polarization of society.
Kim proposed what he tentatively called a “national dividend” for socially redistributing excess corporate profits from AI technology.
Among other things, the tax could be used to provide start-up support for young people, basic income programs for rural and fishing communities, support for artists and stronger pensions, he said.
“Using a portion of excess profits to ensure social stability for the current generation and mitigate transition costs is not merely redistribution, but also a type of system maintenance cost,” he said.
A global frenzy to build AI data centers has sent orders for advanced, high-bandwidth memory chips soaring.
South Korea has said it would triple spending on AI this year, aiming to join the US and China as one of the top three AI powers.
Kim’s remarks came as Samsung Electronics’ labor union demanded the removal of caps on performance bonuses and called for a system allocating 15 percent of operating profit to bonuses. The union was scheduled to hold post-mediation talks with management yesterday.
Calls within the nation’s ruling Democratic Party to redistribute gains from the semiconductor boom have also emerged publicly.
South Korean lawmaker Moon Geum-ju last month said that the semiconductor boom was built partly on “the sacrifice and patience of farmers and fishermen,” and argued that part of the profits should be returned to rural communities.
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