Throughout a memorandum of understanding ceremony held in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, April 27, 2026, Bae Kyung-Hoon, the nation’s Minister of Science and ICT, emphasised the significance of making certain that the wealth generated by synthetic intelligence advantages the broader public. The occasion marked a big partnership between Google DeepMind and South Korea on the formidable Okay-Moonshot mission, which goals to leverage AI to deal with complicated scientific challenges. The ceremony was captured by photographer SeongJoon Cho for Bloomberg through Getty Photos.
South Korea at the moment faces urgent points associated to labor disputes at Samsung Electronics and a inventory market surge pushed by its main semiconductor firms. Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon addressed these issues in an interview with CNBC’s Lisa Kim, highlighting the essential questions surrounding the distribution of AI-generated wealth. He raised issues about whether or not the rise of AI might exacerbate inequality or result in job displacement.
Bae famous that the latest labor-management conflicts, significantly at Samsung Electronics, mirror this ongoing development. The tech big narrowly averted an 18-day strike by unionized staff, which was referred to as off on the final second following authorities intervention. The employees had been pushing for a proper integration of bonuses into their contracts, the removing of bonus caps, and a requirement for 15% of Samsung’s working income to be allotted as bonuses.
Chatting with CNBC’s Lisa Kim on Friday, Bae mentioned the AI period has raised broader questions over how wealth generated by the expertise must be distributed, whether or not AI might worsen inequality and whether or not it might result in job losses.
“Current labor-management conflicts may also be seen as a part of this broader development,” 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.
Employees had demanded a formalization of bonuses of their contracts, the scrapping of bonus caps, and a payout of 15% of Samsung’s working income as bonuses.
A tentative deal was reached on Wednesday, with the union voting on the plan from Friday to 27 Could.
Bae doesn’t count on such industrial motion to be a one-off occasion.
“Within the age of AI, extra of those super-large firms will proceed to emerge. In that course of, labor-management conflicts could proceed to come up, and after they do, it will likely be essential to resolve them correctly by dialogue,” Bae mentioned.
He pointed at automaker Hyundai, and mentioned that there are “many issues and worries” about its integration of Atlas robots – made by Boston Dynamics – into its manufacturing course of.
What South Korea wants isn’t solely the power to create “nice wealth” with AI, however to additionally choose how the wealth and expertise can be utilized correctly, and the affect it is going to have on the general public, Bae mentioned.
“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 publish 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 beneficial properties in South Korean markets, led by heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix which have seen their shares rise as a result of AI increase.
Samsung has posted a year-to-date acquire of just about 144%, and SK Hynix has risen by virtually 200% from Jan 1. The Kospi itself is now greater than 86% larger in 2026 up to now, surpassing final 12 months’s acquire of about 75%.
Kospi index, 12 months to this point
When requested if he noticed the focus of beneficial properties within the tech sector as a weak point, Bae replied: “Whereas these two firms clearly have their very own strengths, there’s additionally an ecosystem of associated firms that assist semiconductor manufacturing.”
South Korea can be now making an attempt to determine a aggressive benefit in bodily AI, Bae mentioned, expressing confidence that Seoul could make inroads into that sector.
Bodily AI usually refers to AI embedded in machines corresponding to robots, autos and industrial techniques, permitting them to sense, purpose and act in real-world environments.
“In a approach, semiconductors and AI infrastructure present the elemental basis. On high of that, Korea is making an attempt to construct out the total spectrum of AI capabilities, together with varied {hardware} tools, software program, and associated companies.”
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