The People Power Party on the 3rd commented on Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, referring to his statement about a 'Korean version of NVIDIA' as a 'planned economy model' and 'socialism.' This comment followed Lee's remark the previous day during a YouTube broadcast, where he suggested that if the equity of the 'Korean version of NVIDIA' is divided into 70% private and 30% public, it would eliminate the need to rely on taxes.
Ham In-kyung, spokesperson for the People Power Party, noted in a commentary that this is nothing different from an unrealistic planned economy model that completely ignores the real economy and market principles, adding that it resembles a totalitarian model where individual interests may be sacrificed for the collective good.
Ruling party presidential candidates also joined the criticism. Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, stated, 'While he claims to support corporations and the economy, ultimately, he has revealed a terrifying fundamental social conception that the state will exclusively manage corporate performance.' He added, 'Is he packaging it as a 'rightward shift' while actually moving toward 'socialism?'
Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min posted on Facebook, 'As Lee, who has been increasingly shifting rightward while claiming to be a moderate conservative, has proposed an absurd 'zero tax for all citizens' plan going beyond tax cuts, this is more absurd than basic income—like a fantasy novel.' He commented further, 'There are no methods for creating a company like NVIDIA, and it seems we are just contemplating how to take advantage of such imaginary companies.'
Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform Party, stated, 'Before thinking about how to take advantage of a corporation like NVIDIA, we must reflect on why talents who could become Korea's Jensen Huang are concentrated only in medical, dental, and oriental medicine schools, and why the political sphere is solely focused on increasing quotas amidst populism.' He also mentioned, 'Lee's claim could likely become another example of 'hotel economy theory,' proving ignorance by suggesting that despite no additional funds, money could circulate.'
Earlier, Lee said in a dialogue video uploaded to the Democratic Research Institute's Collective Intelligence Center the day before, 'In the upcoming artificial intelligence society, it is possible for the public sector to hold a significant portion of immense productivity and for all citizens to share it.' He cited the so-called 'Korean version of NVIDIA' as an example, asserting, 'We need to invest in artificial intelligence (AI), and if the state holds part of it while collectively distributing some productivity generated by that investment to all citizens, there would be no need to collect taxes.'