Industry Minister on Debate Over 'Redistribution' of Conglomerate Excess Profits: "Now Is the Golden Time for Investment... It Must Be Productive Reinvestment"

Jungkwan Kim Posts on Social Media: "Now Is the Golden Time for Investment"

"Productive Reinvestment Should Be the Top Priority for Corporate Profits"

Warns That Even a Single Missed Opportunity Could Collapse the Ecosystem... Stresses Speed and Building Resilience

Younghoon Kim Draws the Line Against 'Profit Seizure' Speculation... Emphasizes the Nature of Voluntary 'Social Dialogue'

Jungkwan Kim, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy

Jungkwan Kim, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, emphasized on the 29th that the top priority for the use of corporate profits amid the ongoing debate over the distribution of excess profits by large conglomerates should be "productive reinvestment."

Minister Kim made this argument in a Facebook post titled, "Now Is the Golden Time for Investment for Korea's Great Leap Forward." He stated, "The world has entered a race to invest at breakneck speed to take the lead in artificial intelligence (AI). In key industries such as semiconductors and other AI-related sectors, nations are staking their futures in an all-out competition. Rival countries are preparing to become winners in the AI era with massive investments on an unimaginable scale." He continued, "Now is the critical moment when profits generated by the semiconductor industry must be channeled into ‘productive reinvestment’ for the future," adding, "We must strategically leverage the AI boom to secure a growth engine for Korea's industrial leap forward."

Minister Kim further warned against complacency with current competitiveness, stating, "Today's profits must become the financial resources for tomorrow's overwhelming competitiveness. We need to secure resilience to withstand downcycles through next-generation semiconductor development, strengthening foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) competitiveness, and cultivating talent. At the same time, we must solidify the ecosystem of suppliers and the materials, parts, and equipment (MPE) sectors to ensure supply chain security." He emphasized, "Victory in the AI era will be determined by overwhelming speed and scale," and warned, "Even a single missed investment opportunity can collapse the industrial ecosystem and push our companies down an irrecoverable path of defeat."

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, Yonhap News Agency

Reiterating his stance, Minister Kim stated, "The top priority for the use of corporate profits must be ‘productive reinvestment.’ Our semiconductor companies are also planning massive new investments. If companies make bold investment decisions, the government will supply key infrastructure such as electricity and water in a timely manner, and provide comprehensive support in the form of tax, financial, and regulatory innovations, running together as ‘One Team’ at full speed." He added that all efforts will be directed toward expanding the semiconductor ecosystem, building AI-based infrastructure, and spreading manufacturing AI (M.AX), so that Korean industry can achieve a "quantum jump" by harnessing AI.

Minister Kim concluded, "The competition for supremacy in AI and semiconductors will not wait. The moment the speed of investment and innovation falters, the initiative for the future will fall into the hands of other countries. What is needed now is not hesitation, but decisiveness—not dispersion, but concentration." He added, "Korea must become the winner in the AI era. The government and industry will unite to leap forward as an ultra-competitive industrial powerhouse that no other country can match."

Previously, Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, proposed a Korean-style social solidarity wage and announced plans to hold an emergency forum on June 1, stating at a press meeting with reporters on the 27th, "The only solution to the question of how to socially distribute the excess profits of large companies is social dialogue." After his remarks became public, criticism arose that the government was forcing conglomerates to share their profits. In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor immediately released an explanatory statement, clarifying, "The claim that the government is forcing large companies to distribute profits does not align at all with the objectives and purpose of the proposed social dialogue." The ministry added, "Starting with the forum, labor, management, and the government plan to work together to close the widening gap among workers and create a society where both original contractors and subcontractors can grow together through win-win cooperation."

On the 28th, Minister Kim posted on social media, "Some are speculating that the government is trying to take profits from large companies and redistribute them, but this misrepresents the government's concerns and the essence of social dialogue." He further explained, "The government neither has the authority nor the intention to forcibly intervene in the legitimate profits of companies. Instead, by listening to diverse voices of the people and sharing concerns, we aim to solve problems through the power of social dialogue, finding alternatives together."

On the 29th, Minister Kim appeared on the YouTube program 'OhmyTV Park Jungho's Hotspot,' stating, "The late Lee Kun-hee, former chairman of Samsung Electronics, once said, 'Another family, our partners, are also family.' It was the teaching of the former chairman that partners must thrive together—I was not the first to say this." In response to criticism from the People Power Party that his proposal was akin to "cutting open the goose that lays the golden eggs," he said, "This proposal is not about cutting open the goose, but about creating a bigger goose, or even another goose. I don't understand why calling for social dialogue is considered contrary to the spirit of the Constitution."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.