Labor minister's calls for redistribution of chip profits stirs backlash

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon’s call for discussions on the potential redistribution of major conglomerates’ "excess" profits has sparked controversy, after he described semiconductors as a “public good” when speaking about recent debate concerning the distribution of the profits of Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s largest company.

Kim on Wednesday told reporters that there should be talks over a “Korean social solidarity wage” involving the distribution of the company’s remaining profits afte ...