South Korea roils markets by floating ‘Citizen Dividend’ from AI tax

A top South Korean policymaker said the nation should pay citizens a “dividend” using taxes on AI profits, underscoring growing pressure on authorities to redistribute gains from a boom that has enriched chipmakers like Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc.

The comments in a Facebook post by presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom fuelled sharp swings in Korean stocks on Tuesday as investors struggled to parse the scope of Kim’s proposals. The benchmark Kospi index sank as much as 5.1%, then pared losses after Kim clarified he wanted to tap into “excess tax revenue” generated from the AI boom rather than roll out a new windfall tax on corporate profits. Shares in Samsung and SK Hynix sank but later recouped much of their losses.

Around the world, economists and politicians have increasingly called attention to how the advent of AI technology risks worsening the gap between the haves and have-nots. In South Korea, especially, that growing concern has surfaced in public calls for industry leaders from SK Hynix to Samsung to share more of the spoils of that global AI infrastructure boom.

Also Read: Ex-OpenAI exec Sutskever says he spent a year gathering proof of alleged Altman dishonesty

Kim’s comments “show the Korean government increasingly sees AI as national infrastructure rather than just another tech trend,” said Jung In Yun, chief executive officer at Fibonacci Asset Management Global. “This is supportive for Korea’s AI supply, especially companies tied to semiconductors, power equipment and sovereign AI platforms.”

Samsung Electronics and its labour union entered the final day of high-stakes, government-mediated wage negotiations on Tuesday in an effort to avert a strike that could disrupt operations at the world’s biggest memory chipmaker.

Last month, tens of thousands of people gathered outside Samsung’s main chip hub to demand that employees get a greater share of AI profits. The company’s labour union wants 15% of the operating profit handed to chip-division employees.

The union has threatened an 18-day strike starting May 21. Workers have pointed to rising payouts at SK Hynix, which last year agreed to allocate 10% of its annual operating profit to a performance bonus pool, as evidence they deserve more pay.

“Excess profits in the AI era are, by nature, concentrated,” Kim wrote. Memory companies, core engineers and asset holders are highly likely to receive substantial benefits, while much of the middle class may experience only indirect effects.