[News Today] ‘AI nat’l dividend’ sparks controversy

[LEAD]

Kim Yong-beom, the Pres. Chief of Staff for Policy, has floated the idea of so-called 'national dividends' from AI. His comment quickly become a political flashpoint. The idea is that if the unprecedented boom in the AI supply chain sector leads to excess tax revenue, part of those gains should be returned to the people.

But the opposition camp has pushed back hard, calling it 'anti-corporate sentiment'.

[REPORT]

"The gains from the AI infrastructure era are not the result of a few specific companies alone."

This claim was made by Kim Yong-beom, the Pres. Chief of Staff for Policy, as he proposed the notion of a so-called 'national dividends'.

He said some of the gains from the recent boom should be structurally returned to people as the foundation for growth in the AI-related sector was built jointly.

He added that the dividends would be an absurd idea unless preceded by record-high excess tax revenue.

His remark garnered greater attention as one foreign news outlet reported that it triggered severe fluctuations in the Korean stock market.

It claimed that the market is interpreting the remark as the sign of a new 'windfall tax' on the companies making great profits from AI, causing confusion among investors and related stock prices to fall.

Politicians got into the fray as well.

The People Power Party and the Reform Party in the conservative camp attacked the idea as an 'anti-corporate policy' and 'a Communist economy of distribution'.

The Democratic Party refuted by calling it 'excessive political attacks that distort core intent' but didn't issue an official party statement.

The ruling party was guarding against the chief policy secretary's remark sparking controversy. Even a Cheong Wa Dae official made it clear that Kim's proposal was just a personal opinion.