Systems
As a senior policymaker ponders whether all South Koreans should enjoy an ‘AI dividend’
RAM prices have risen after negotiations between Samsung and a union representing many of its workers collapsed – and the union has now called for a lengthy strike to start next week.
The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) has noticed the extraordinary profits the Korean giant is making thanks to the high price of RAM, and wants the company to boost members’ pay with bonuses tied to profits. Talks on that idea have stalled, and pointing out that Samsung pays memory-makers less than peers at SK Hynix hasn’t found a receptive ear. The Union therefore plans to start an 18-day strike next week.
If the industrial action goes ahead, it has the potential to disrupt memory production, which would mean further shortages at a time DRAM is already expensive and hard to acquire due to rampant demand for AI infrastructure. Short-term memory prices have therefore spiked in the last 72 hours – which ironically will just increase Samsung’s profit’s even more!
The Union has accused Samsung of not taking its arguments seriously, and South Korea’s government has stepped in with attempts to bring two parties to the table for fresh talks that lawmakers hope will resolve the situation because The Spice Must Flow. Or maybe The RAM Must Roll.
Samsung recently posted almost $40 billion profit for a single quarter, thanks largely to memory sales.
That enormous sum, and others like it reported by Korean companies who sell memory and other products in demand from AI builders, caught the attention of Yong-Beom Kim, South Korea’s Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy – a ministerial role.
Using his personal Facebook page, Kim suggested funneling a portion of AI profits into a “national dividend fund” that can be used to improve South Korea’s long-term prospects. His post mentions Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which famously siphoned off revenue from oil sales and invested it in shares to create assets worth over $2 trillion.
Vendors often tell The Register “data is the new oil” so maybe Kim is on to something – although the metaphor may not work well when one considers current events in the Strait of Hormuz and their effect on the world. ®
Tama Grisby
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