Kim Yong-beom, Chief of the Presidential Office Policy Office, has floated a "national dividend" as a means of returning corporate excess profits in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to all citizens. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Kim said, "The fruits of the AI infrastructure era are not the result of specific companies alone, but emerge from the industrial foundation that all citizens have built together." As concrete measures for the national dividend, he proposed youth entrepreneurship assets, basic income for farming and fishing communities, and strengthened old-age pensions. Given that the word "semiconductor" was mentioned eight times, he may have had in mind Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS), which have posted record earnings. If so, the message could be read as suggesting that since semiconductor companies' performance owes much not only to labor-management efforts but also to government support in power and water infrastructure, research and development (R&D), and tax policy, citizens should share in the fruits.
When Kim's remarks on "AI excess profits and national dividends" became known, the KOSPI, which had been approaching the 8,000 mark in early trading, plunged more than 5 percent within moments. Bloomberg pointed to Kim's "AI national dividend" argument as the cause. The decline narrowed somewhat after Kim clarified that his intent was "not to introduce a new windfall tax, but to utilize excess tax revenues." Although Kim had originally included a caveat in his Facebook post that "without excess tax revenues, a national dividend would be an empty promise," the lack of precise messaging is regrettable. It is difficult to avoid criticism that his remarks heightened anxiety among the market and investors at a time when the Samsung Electronics labor union has signaled a strike demanding excessive performance bonuses. Even without this, parts of the political sphere have been pouring out arguments that semiconductor profits should be shared with farming and fishing communities, socially vulnerable groups, and subcontractors.
The intrinsic role of corporations is to generate profits, pay taxes, create jobs, and return capital to shareholders. It is desirable for companies to seek win-win arrangements with subcontractors and local communities, but this is a matter for shareholders to decide on their own, not something to be imposed. Moreover, in the semiconductor industry, the scale of investment determines future competitiveness. This is why Taiwan's TSMC and the United States' Micron are racing to make astronomical investments. There is concern that while Korea alone busies itself with schemes to share semiconductor profits, it may fall behind competing nations. What is needed now is not a plan to redistribute excess profits, but a sustainable growth strategy built on strengthening corporate competitiveness.
