AFP, SEOUL
A top South Korean official has proposed a tax on artificial intelligence (AI) profits to be redistributed among society as a semiconductor boom drives massive earnings for technology giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.The two South Korean firms have emerged as key suppliers of high-performance chips powering AI infrastructure globally, posting record first-quarter earnings as global demand surges.South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI has rallied over the past month, repeatedly hitting record highs and yesterday also briefly coming within a whisker of the key 8,000-point mark.
South Korean Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy Kim Yong-beom speaks to reporters in Washington on Oct. 22 last year.
South Korea was no longer operating as a traditional export economy and could be shifting toward a “technology monopoly economy” driven by scarcity of chips and sustained excess profits, South Korean Senior Presidential Secretary for Policy Kim Yong-beom said in a social media post late on Monday.While the shift toward a technology-dominant economy represented “the core essence of the possibilities currently open before [South] Korea,” Kim warned that it could also deepen polarization of society.
