Lee Jae Myung Urges Global Talks on Excess Profit Sharing as Samsung Dividend Debate Intensifies
Updated
Updated · 매일경제 · Jun 8
Lee Jae Myung Urges Global Talks on Excess Profit Sharing as Samsung Dividend Debate Intensifies
3 articles · Updated · 매일경제 · Jun 8
Summary
Lee Jae Myung said proposals to distribute corporate excess profits, highlighted by debate around Samsung Electronics, could reshape South Korea’s industrial policy and must be handled cautiously.
He warned that if South Korea moved first to pressure companies with high operating margins to share more profits, firms could delay investment or shift activity elsewhere.
Lee called the issue unavoidable but too large for a Korea-only solution, saying excess-profit distribution is likely to become a global agenda requiring international discussion.
On semiconductor-boom tax windfalls, he rejected treating them as general revenue or using them mainly to repay debt, arguing the money should fund long-term growth areas the private sector cannot tackle alone.