Bae Kyung-Hoon, South Korea’s science and ICT minister, speaks throughout a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, April 27, 2026. Google DeepMind is teaming up with South Korea on the nation’s Okay-Moonshot challenge, which makes use of AI to unravel complicated scientific issues. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs
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South Korea should be certain that wealth created by synthetic intelligence advantages the broader public, Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon stated, even because the nation grapples with labor tensions at Samsung Electronics and a stock-market rally more and more powered by its largest chipmakers.
Talking to CNBC’s Lisa Kim on Friday, Bae stated the AI period has raised broader questions over how wealth generated by the expertise ought to be distributed, whether or not AI might worsen inequality and whether or not it might result in job losses.
“Latest labor-management conflicts can be seen as a part of this broader pattern,” he added, referring to Samsung Electronics, the place a deliberate 18-day strike by unionized staff was suspended Wednesday after authorities officers stepped in on the final minute to go off a walkout.
Staff had demanded a formalization of bonuses of their contracts, the scrapping of bonus caps, and a payout of 15% of Samsung’s working earnings as bonuses.
A tentative deal was reached on Wednesday, with the union voting on the plan from Friday to 27 Could.
Bae doesn’t anticipate such industrial motion to be a one-off occasion.
“Within the age of AI, extra of those super-large corporations will proceed to emerge. In that course of, labor-management conflicts could proceed to come up, and once they do, it will likely be vital to resolve them properly via dialogue,” Bae stated.
He pointed at automaker Hyundai, and stated that there are “many considerations and worries” about its integration of Atlas robots – made by Boston Dynamics – into its manufacturing course of.
What South Korea wants just isn’t solely the flexibility to create “nice wealth” with AI, however to additionally decide how the wealth and expertise can be utilized correctly, and the influence it is going to have on the general public, Bae stated.
“The advantages of AI should additionally go to the general public,” Bae added, saying that Seoul is deeply targeted on constructing an “AI-inclusive society — a society the place nobody is left behind within the AI period.”
His feedback come after South Korean presidential official Kim Yeong Beom proposed on Fb on Could 12 to distribute extra tax income generated from Korea’s synthetic intelligence and semiconductor sectors to residents, sparking turmoil in markets.
An official later reportedly clarified that the submit was Kim’s opinion, and never a topic of formal discussions.
Shaky Kospi rally
Bae, who additionally holds the portfolio of South Korea’s minister for science and expertise, was additionally requested about sharp positive aspects in South Korean markets, led by heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix which have seen their shares rise because of the AI growth.
Samsung has posted a year-to-date achieve of virtually 144%, and SK Hynix has risen by nearly 200% from Jan 1. The Kospi itself is now greater than 86% greater in 2026 up to now, surpassing final 12 months’s achieve of about 75%.
Kospi index, 12 months up to now
When requested if he noticed the focus of positive aspects within the tech sector as a weak point, Bae replied: “Whereas these two corporations clearly have their very own strengths, there’s additionally an ecosystem of associated corporations that help semiconductor manufacturing.”
South Korea can be now attempting to ascertain a aggressive benefit in bodily AI, Bae stated, expressing confidence that Seoul could make inroads into that sector.
Bodily AI typically refers to AI embedded in machines akin to robots, automobiles and industrial techniques, permitting them to sense, cause and act in real-world environments.
“In a manner, semiconductors and AI infrastructure present the basic basis. On high of that, Korea is attempting to construct out the complete spectrum of AI capabilities, together with numerous {hardware} tools, software program, and associated providers.”
