Prime Minister Kim Min-seok hinted at a plan to tie the economic gains that artificial intelligence (AI) technology will bring to a distribution policy in the form of basic income.
On the 24th at the Dalian International Convention Center in Liaoning province, China, during a special address at the 2026 Summer World Economic Forum (WEF, Summer Davos Forum), Kim was asked about solutions to social gaps arising from the AI transition and said, "Recently, Korea's semiconductor corporations have made larger revenue than in the past, and a new question has arisen of 'how to distribute it,'" adding, "There is no definitive answer yet, and we are considering it."
Kim went on to say, "Given the massive new wealth that will emerge from the grand AI transition, we might be able to combine it with, for example, something like basic income. I am considering it as one idea," adding, "I think it may be one of our policy obligations for Korea to conduct an experiment that does the consolidation of AI transition outcomes and basic income and provides the international community with various aspects, including pros and cons."
That day, Kim also attended the Summer Davos Forum as a sitting prime minister for the first time in 10 years and delivered a special address. He said that, based on Korea's long-standing manufacturing asset, the country would secure world-class competitiveness in the so-called "physical AI" field, where hardware is fused, and he expressed that ambition. He also set the goal of joining the world's top three across the artificial intelligence industry as a whole.
Kim then said, "AI is not completed by algorithms alone," showing confidence in the technological foundation. He said, "You must have all the infrastructure such as semiconductors, data centers, telecommunications networks, and power grids, as well as AI applications and security systems," adding, "Korea has a particular strength in that regard." He added, "From the world's top-tier semiconductor industry and advanced manufacturing capabilities to a stable, high-quality power grid and ICT infrastructure and a dynamic industrial ecosystem, we have full 'AI full-stack capabilities.'"
Finally, Kim quoted the idiom "Seungpungparang," meaning to ride the wind and cut through the waves, and pledged cooperation with investors and researchers around the world. He said, "Humanity will not fear uncertainty and will seize the current of great change as an opportunity to cut through the surging tides of the times."
He said this while noting, "Because Korea has traditional manufacturing capabilities, I think we can demonstrate strengths in the field of physical AI."
Noting that, depending on internal and external conditions, Korea is being called upon to undertake both an AI grand transition and an energy transition, Kim emphasized at an overall level in the AI field that "we are aiming to be one of the global AI top three."