Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 5th mentioned "adjusting contract unit prices with partner companies" as one option for distributing excess profits stemming from large corporations' artificial intelligence (AI) market growth.
In a Reuters interview released the same day, the Minister said, "It is undeniable that Samsung's remarkable performance is the result of the devoted efforts of labor and management," but added, "There are more than 1,700 partner firms, and there is a level of community contribution, including water and power supply," and stated accordingly.
Regarding the People Power Party criticizing excess profits as "communism," the Minister explained, "What I mean by distribution is sharing profits with partner firms. This is clearly reinvestment." He then presented adjusting contract unit prices with partner firms as one of the methods of distributing excess profits.
The Minister also mentioned side effects of expanding performance-based bonuses at large corporations. The point is that if performance bonuses are expanded at large corporations, wage gaps with small and midsize enterprises will inevitably widen, and the preference for large corporations will intensify.
On the 27th, the Minister said, "The only solution to how to socially distribute large corporations' excess profits is social dialogue," and noted that the ministry would hold a "Korean-style social solidarity wage forum."