Controversy continues over how to utilize excess profits generated from the semiconductor boom.

At the "Corporate Investment and the Future of Labor in the AI Era" forum, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at Korea Growth Investment Corp. in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, today (July 15), representatives from the industrial and economic sectors expressed concerns regarding proposals to introduce a "special purpose tax" to redistribute these excess profits.

At a forum hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor yesterday (July 14), a proposal was made to create a special tax on excess profits to be used for research and development (R&D) investment within the industry, youth employment, and the improvement of worker welfare.

Kwon Nam-hoon, President of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET), who served as the moderator for the forum, addressed the special tax, stating, "While the intention is good, it does not appear to be a desirable methodology."

Citing the Film Development Fund as an example, President Kwon pointed out, "The fund is paid by consumers, not film companies. It would be like demanding a film company pay a tax simply because a movie like 'The King and the Clown' became a massive hit."

"Companies know best how to develop the semiconductor ecosystem," Kwon added. "Methods that encourage companies to pool their will and invest are methodologically superior to a special tax."

Jeon Yoon-jong, President of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), warned, "Introducing an irregular purpose tax outside the existing tax system undermines the predictability of the business environment and will significantly dampen investment sentiment among both domestic and foreign companies."

Ahn Dong-hyun, a professor of economics at Seoul National University, who gave a presentation at the event, also pointed out that it is inappropriate for the government or external stakeholders to demand a share of corporate excess profits under the pretext of infrastructure construction or cash subsidies.

"Semiconductors are not public goods, and companies are already paying usage fees for public infrastructure such as water and electricity," Professor Ahn said. "One cannot demand additional distribution based on this."

While participants from academia and the industrial and economic sectors emphasized that corporate excess profits should be utilized for reinvestment, the labor sector highlighted a difference in position, focusing on profit sharing.

President Jeon Yoon-jong emphasized, "Corporate profits are the result of taking risks and challenging global innovation. Productive reinvestment to advance core technologies and business structures is the only way forward for our industry."

Lee Joon, Director of the Strategic Industry Research Center at KIET, said, "We were able to ride the wave of the AI semiconductor boom because we have continuously reinvested astronomical profits. To continue this, we must remain on the investment cycle."

The labor sector argued that corporate profits should also benefit subcontracted and non-regular workers.

Lee Gyeo-re, Chair of the Youth Special Committee at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), stated, "We need comprehensive future investment for a sustainable industrial ecosystem, based on the creation of a fund supported by the massive profits of companies and corporate social responsibility."

Jang Jin-hee, a senior researcher at the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) Research Institute, also emphasized, "Resources generated from an industry should be used to benefit even the subcontracted workers working in that industry."

(Photo: Yonhap News)