South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon has declared that the wealth generated by artificial intelligence must flow to the broader public, warning that the labour unrest that nearly paralyzed Samsung Electronics this week is not an anomaly but a harbinger of the AI era. In an interview with CNBC on Friday, Bae, who also serves as the minister for science and technology, argued that as AI drives corporate profits to historic highs, the question of equitable distribution and the risk of deepening inequality must become central to national policy.
“In the age of AI, more of these super-large companies will continue to emerge,” Bae said. “In that process, labour-management conflicts may continue to arise, and when they do, it will be important to resolve them wisely through dialogue.” The deputy prime minister’s words came just days after Samsung’s largest labour union suspended a planned 18-day strike that South Korea’s prime minister warned could cost the economy $668 million per day. The walkout was averted on Wednesday after government-mediated negotiations produced a tentative agreement, with the union demanding that 15% of Samsung’s operating profit be allocated to bonuses and formalized in employment contracts. Samsung had offered 10%. Voting on the proposed contract opened Friday and will run until 27 May.
The dispute was driven by stark numbers. Samsung’s first-quarter 2026 operating profit soared to ₩57.2 trillion, an eightfold year-on-year increase, fueled almost entirely by high-bandwidth memory chips for AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Lee family’s wealth doubled to $45.5 billion in twelve months. Samsung’s share price has risen nearly 144% year to date, and SK Hynix has surged almost 200%. The Kospi index has gained more than 86% in 2026, surpassing last year’s 75% rise. While the wealth is real and concentrated, workers on the factory floor felt left behind.
Bae also pointed to Hyundai Motor as another flashpoint. The automaker is integrating Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robots into its manufacturing processes, a move that Bae said has generated “many concerns and worries” about the impact on workers. Hyundai acquired a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021 and announced its AI robotics strategy at CES 2026, positioning itself to lead what it calls a “human-centred robotics era.” For production-line workers, however, the promise of a human-centred era rings hollow as automation threatens their jobs.
The political landscape further underscores the sensitivity of AI wealth distribution. On 12 May, Kim Yeong Beom, a presidential official, proposed on Facebook that excess tax revenue from Korea’s AI and semiconductor sectors be distributed directly to citizens. The post triggered market turmoil, with Samsung and SK Hynix shares dropping sharply before an official clarified that the proposal was Kim’s personal opinion, not formal government policy. The episode revealed how even a speculative suggestion about redistributing AI wealth can move billions in market capitalisation, illustrating the volatility of the issue.
Bae framed Seoul’s goal as building an “AI-inclusive society, a society where no one is left behind in the AI era.” This language echoes similar commitments from European and American policymakers, but South Korea’s situation is unique. The country’s economy is more dependent on semiconductor manufacturing than any other advanced nation. Chips accounted for 37% of South Korea’s total exports in April. Samsung and SK Hynix together represent a disproportionate share of the Kospi’s gains. The AI boom is not merely one sector for South Korea—it is the sector that drives the entire economy.
When asked whether the concentration of market gains in two companies represents a vulnerability, Bae argued that Samsung and SK Hynix sit atop a broader ecosystem of suppliers and service companies that also benefit. He said South Korea is now trying to establish a competitive advantage in physical AI, the category encompassing robots, autonomous vehicles, and industrial systems capable of sensing, reasoning, and acting in real-world environments. “Semiconductors and AI infrastructure provide the fundamental foundation,” Bae said. “On top of that, Korea is trying to build out the full spectrum of AI capabilities, including various hardware equipment, software, and related services.”
The tension between AI-driven productivity and workforce displacement is a global phenomenon. Detroit’s Big Three automakers have cut 20,000 white-collar jobs while posting hundreds of AI positions. Salesforce reduced 4,000 support staff after deploying AI agents. The pattern is consistent across industries and geographies: AI makes companies more profitable and workforces smaller, and the question of who captures the gains is becoming the defining political issue of the technology’s adoption. South Korea’s version of this question is sharper than most because the gains are so concentrated. Two companies, in one sector, in one country, have seen their combined market value increase by hundreds of billions of dollars in six months. The workers who run the fabrication lines that produce the memory chips powering the AI boom nearly walked off the job this week.
Bae’s statement that “the benefits of AI must also go to the public” is an acknowledgement that the market alone will not solve the distribution problem. Whether Seoul’s policy response matches the scale of its rhetoric will be tested every time the next Samsung contract cycle arrives, and every time a Hyundai factory installs another Atlas robot. The coming months will reveal whether South Korea can turn its AI dominance into broad-based prosperity or whether the pattern of concentrated wealth and labour unrest will deepen.