President Lee Jae-myung said Monday that new mechanisms such as basic income are needed to return part of the "excess profits" generated by the boom in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry to the public.
Lee made the remarks in an interview with the British economic outlet The Economist, published the same day. The Economist reported that as AI-centered investment has driven up stock markets so far, the question of how to equitably distribute newly created wealth could arise if the boom continues. In response, the outlet explained that "the government is encouraging semiconductor companies to build supply chains in regional areas for balanced regional development."
A Presidential Office official said the comments were "not a reference to any specific company or matter," explaining that they concern "an era-defining challenge that may be faced someday in order to sustain and maintain the capitalist market order during the great transition to the AI era."
Earlier, at a press conference marking his first year in office on Saturday, Lee had also called the issue of distributing excess profits from semiconductor companies and others "an agenda that could have a very serious impact on national industrial policy." He said, "This is not a problem that can be settled by debating only within our country. It cannot be resolved. It will soon become a common agenda for the entire world."
On the decision to increase defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) during security negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump, Lee stressed that "our nation's defense must be our own responsibility." Regarding the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines and securing authority for uranium enrichment and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing for nuclear power generation, he drew a line against proliferation concerns, saying, "South Korea's own nuclear armament is neither desirable nor realistic."
On the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Lee assessed that North Korea would be even less likely to give up its nuclear weapons after the Middle East war. However, referring to the strained inter-Korean relations, he expressed hope for communication through North Korea-U.S. dialogue, saying, "President Trump's 'unique character' could be very helpful in the current situation."
Meanwhile, The Economist noted that more than half of South Korea's presidents since democratization have experienced impeachment or imprisonment, and assessed that the future of Lee himself, who faces five trials including the Daejang-dong and inter-Korean fund transfer cases, is also uncertain.
