Translation result
[Anchor] Government ministries are sharply divided over how to handle excess profits at major semiconductor companies. Labor Minister Kim Young‑hoon has called for urgent talks on social redistribution, while Industry Minister Kim Jung‑gwan says now is the time to prioritize investment over redistribution. This is reporter Kim Tae‑wook. [Reporter] In the AI era, the race will be won by overwhelming speed and scale. In a social media post, Industry Minister Kim Jung‑gwan called this a \”do‑or‑die\” moment for South Korea’s semiconductor industry. He warned that missing even a single investment could destabilize the industry’s ecosystem and urged concentration of resources rather than dispersion. His comments appeared aimed at Labor Minister Kim Young‑hoon, who recently described semiconductors as a public good and called for sharing excess profits. Earlier, Kim Young‑hoon — who helped mediate a tentative agreement between Samsung Electronics and its union — proposed an emergency forum, saying the government needs concrete ways to socially distribute large corporations’ excess profits. When critics accused the government of trying to seize corporate earnings to redistribute them, he pushed back, saying the goal is to identify shared‑growth measures that reduce polarization and strengthen corporate competitiveness. 「Kim Young‑hoon / Minister of Employment and Labor」 What I’m proposing is not simply butchering the goose to share it. We need to grow a bigger goose — create another one. It has to be sustainable. The two ministers who oversee industry and labor policy have openly voiced differing views on how to handle excess profits. The Blue House has said it welcomes a public discussion on the matter, and the Labor Ministry said it will announce the forum schedule once preparations are complete. This is Kim Tae‑wook, Yonhap News TV. [Video provided by YouTube OhmyTV] [Video coverage: Moon Won‑cheol] [Video editing: Lee Ye‑rim] [Graphics: Moon Su‑jin] [News review] Yonhap News TV inquiries and tips: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23 Kim Tae‑wook (tw@yna.co.kr)
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