South Korea’s deputy prime minister said AI wealth should benefit the wider public as AI-driven corporate profits rise. He warned that labour-management conflicts seen at major firms are likely to recur as larger companies expand in the AI era. He cited Samsung’s near-strike as a warning sign and said disputes should be resolved through dialogue. Samsung’s labour union sought bonuses tied to a higher share of operating profit and more formal employment commitments, while Samsung offered a lower share. The dispute was suspended after government-mediated talks. Samsung’s profits surged on AI-related memory chips, and major shareholder wealth and stock gains showed concentrated, visible gains from AI.
"“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 wealth created by artificial intelligence must benefit the wider public,” Bae said, warning that the labour tensions that nearly shut down Samsung Electronics this week are not an isolated event but a preview of what the AI era will produce."
"Samsung’s largest labour union had been preparing an 18-day strike that South Korea's prime minister warned could cost $668 million per day. The walkout was suspended on Wednesday after government-mediated negotiations produced a tentative deal. Workers had demanded that 15% of Samsung's operating profit be allocated to bonuses and formalised in employment contracts. Samsung had offered 10%."
"Samsung's Q1 2026 operating profit reached ₩57.2 trillion, an eightfold year-on-year increase, driven almost entirely by high-bandwidth memory chips for AI infrastructure. The Lee family's wealth doubled to $45.5 billion in twelve months. Samsung's share price has risen nearly 144% year to date. SK Hynix is up almost 200%."
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