A proposal by South Korea's top policy advisor to share part of the economic gains from artificial intelligence with citizens, triggered sharp swings in the country's stock market on Tuesday and reignited debate over how AI wealth should be distributed.
Kim Yong-beom, policy chief to President Lee Jae Myung, suggested in a Facebook post that citizens could receive a share of the economic windfall generated by the AI boom, which has sharply boosted profits of chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
The comments initially spooked investors, with South Korea's benchmark Kospi index falling as much as 5.1%. Markets later recovered after Kim clarified he was referring to redistributing surplus tax revenues generated from AI-led growth, rather than imposing a direct windfall tax on corporations.
The proposal comes amid growing concerns globally that the benefits of the AI revolution are becoming concentrated among a handful of technology firms, engineers and asset owners.
“This reflects a broader desire among Asian economies to signal shared ownership in a digitalized, AI-powered future,” Christy Tan, senior investment strategist at Franklin Templeton Institute, told Bloomberg Television.
Samsung's operating profit reportedly surged nearly 48-fold in the first quarter of the year, while SK Hynix is expected to post around 239 trillion won in profit this year, underscoring the scale of gains driven by AI demand.
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The debate is also unfolding against rising labour tensions at Samsung. Thousands of workers recently protested near the company's flagship chip campus, demanding a larger share of AI-driven profits. The union has sought 15% of operating profit for chip-division employees and threatened an 18-day strike beginning May 21.
In his post, Kim argued that profits in the AI era naturally flow toward memory chipmakers and top engineers, while much of the middle class benefits only indirectly.
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