South Korea’s presidential office said the outlet had misinterpreted a social media post by a senior presidential adviser about a proposed “people’s dividend” as referring to redistribution of excess profits rather than excess tax revenue
The Blue House. (Hankyoreh file photo)
The Blue House lodged a formal protest with Bloomberg News over its report that framed a proposal for a “people’s dividend” made by a senior presidential adviser as a plan to redistribute “excess profits” from companies benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom. In a letter addressed to the news outlet on Thursday, the Blue House expressed “serious concern” over how Bloomberg chose to report on a post by Kim Yong-beom, the Blue House director of national policy, on his personal social media account and demanded an official apology. The presidential office explained in its letter that Kim had not argued for a plan to redistribute excess corporate profits, to impose a windfall tax on companies, or to transfer private-sector earnings directly to the public. The Blue House further argued that Bloomberg’s misinterpretation of Kim’s post negatively impacted market stability and South Korea’s credibility and stressed the basic responsibility of the press to accurately relay the context of any original text. Bloomberg has yet to issue a reply to the Blue House’s complaint. In a Facebook post uploaded Tuesday, Kim wrote, “The gains from the AI infrastructure era are not the result of a few specific companies alone,” arguing that Korea should review a “people’s dividend” that utilizes excess tax revenue. However, a Bloomberg opinion piece titled “Korea’s AI ‘People’s Dividend’ Will Ensure Common Poverty” insinuated that Kim’s post was responsible for a dip in South Korea’s KOSPI index by stating that the index plummeted after Kim’s post was uploaded.By Seo Young-ji, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
