Presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom, seen here at Cheong Wa Dae on April 27, on Tuesday proposed introducing public dividends to share in an AI-driven economic boom. File Photo by Yonhap
The presidential chief of staff for policy on Tuesday proposed introducing public dividends to distribute the “fruits” from an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven economic boom.
Kim Yong-beom made the suggestion in a Facebook post, as the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the country’s main stock index, was heading toward the record-high 8,000-point mark, driven by gains in chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc.
The companies posted record-high profits in the first quarter, highlighting their leadership in the global chip market amid the AI boom.
“The fruits of the AI infrastructure era are not the results generated by certain companies alone … they were produced on a foundation that all the people have built together over half a century,” the presidential policy chief wrote.
He argued that deliberating on how to use the proceeds would “not be optional but necessary if (the companies’) strategic advantage in the distribution network for AI infrastructure creates a structural upcycle and that, in turn, leads to record-breaking tax revenues.”
“Part of these fruits should be structurally returned to the people,” he said.
Kim referred to cases of foreign countries “socially institutionalizing structural excess profits,” such as Norway’s oil-generated profits in the 1990s, and suggested “public dividends” as the name for the program should South Korea introduce such a system.
The policy chief also listed a fund for young entrepreneurs launching startups, a pension program for the elderly and a fund for retraining in the AI era as possible areas that could benefit from the initiative, while stressing the need for social consensus in making such a decision.
“There’s a possibility that South Korea could become the first country to return excess profits from the AI era into people’s lives,” he noted.
Cheong Wa Dae later clarified that Kim’s proposal has nothing to do with any internal discussion or review at the presidential office, describing it as a “personal opinion.”
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