Top Official Proposes 'National Dividend' to Share AI Era Profits

In a significant statement that could shape future economic policy, Kim Yong-beom, the Chief of Staff for Policy at the Presidential Office, has proposed the concept of a "national dividend." This idea suggests that a portion of the excess profits generated by South Korean companies in the burgeoning Artificial Intelligence (AI) era should be systematically returned to the entire populace. Kim articulated this vision on Facebook, emphasizing that the advancements and profits of the AI age are built upon the industrial foundation painstakingly laid by the nation over half a century.

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The fruits of the AI infrastructure era are not the result of a single company. They are derived from the industrial foundation that the entire nation has built together over half a century. Therefore, a portion of those fruits must be structurally returned to the entire nation.

Kim's proposal directly addresses the growing concern of a "K-shaped recovery" or widening economic disparity. He noted that the benefits of the AI era are likely to concentrate among shareholders of memory chip companies, key engineers, and those with assets in the Seoul metropolitan area. Meanwhile, a significant portion of the population might only experience indirect benefits, such as improved purchasing power due to a stronger won or limited fiscal transfers. The "national dividend" is envisioned as a mechanism to ensure broader, structural benefit distribution.

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The excess profits of the AI era are concentrated by nature. Those who already have access to productive assets, such as memory company shareholders, key engineers, and asset holders in the Seoul metropolitan area, are highly likely to receive significant benefits through market mechanisms.

This concept is particularly timely given the ongoing labor disputes at Samsung Electronics, where the labor union is demanding a 15% share of operating profit as performance bonuses. While the specifics of the "national dividend" program are open for debate – with potential avenues including support for youth startups, rural basic income, artists, pensions, or AI transition education – Kim pointed to Norway's sovereign wealth fund, built on oil revenues and systematically distributed, as a potential long-term model. The Hankyoreh will continue to explore the implications of this proposal and the ensuing public discourse on equitable wealth distribution in the age of advanced technology.

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Should it go to startup assets for young people, basic income for rural areas, support for artists, strengthening of old-age pensions, or an education account for the AI era transition? These are open questions.