Heo Ji-woong Slams Labor Minister Over 'Excess Profit Distribution': 'Would Losses Be Shared If a Company Goes Bankrupt?'

[Financial News] Writer and broadcaster Heo Ji-woong criticized Kim Young-hoon, the Minister of Employment and Labor, over his remarks on sharing excess profits from semiconductor and Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies, calling them "a complete mess from start to finish."
On the 15th, Heo posted a photo on his social networking service of Kim attending the previous day's forum hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), titled "The Path to New Social Innovation in Step with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technological Innovation." He then said, "Why don't they share the failures and losses? Why do they only want to share the profits? Even if the government helps companies when they are struggling, it does not take responsibility for bankruptcy. In capitalism, the party that takes the risk gets the profit."
Heo argued, "Even if all operating profit is reinvested in facility investment and technology development, it is still impossible to tell whether the company is heading for decline or a leap forward. The speed of capital investment is what matters." He added, "The competitor, China, is growing rapidly. It is a place where distribution only has to be handled with the Communist Party. If this kind of debate shakes things up, it will be overtaken by Changshin, a leading Chinese memory semiconductor company, within a year or two."
He continued, "They said that 'breaking free by going beyond the dichotomous thinking of investment versus distribution is the first step toward opening the door to a new society.' Is the labor minister believing in some kind of cult?" He added, "They acknowledge that this is a situation outside the usual rules, where the old grammar no longer applies, but are they simply viewing it as a predetermined rosy outcome? It is a complete mess from start to finish."
In his opening remarks at the forum on the 14th, Kim said, "The astronomical achievements companies have made were not the result of their own innovation alone," and raised the need to distribute excess corporate profits.
He also stressed, "The old grammar created in the industrialization era cannot fully capture the new era. We need a new social contract for people that fits the AI era." He added, "The astronomical results of AI are the total sum of the benefits our society has created together. We must move beyond the dichotomous thinking of 'investment versus distribution.'"
gaa1003@fnnews.com An Ga-eul Reporter