Blue House Says Semiconductor Tax Windfall Should Be Invested in Future Generations as Lee Plans Samsung Meeting

President Lee Jae-myung is stepping up outreach aimed at using the semiconductor boom to drive more balanced development across regions and generations.

Lee is set to meet Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee soon to discuss investment plans for key regions, including the Honam area, people familiar with the matter said on June 22.

He has also been separately meeting major business leaders, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, to exchange views on fostering the artificial intelligence industry and promoting balanced regional development, the people said.

Those talks are expected to lead to a blueprint in the near term for large-scale, region-centered industrial investment involving both the private sector and the government.

At a news conference on June 8 marking his first year in office, Lee said he would soon unveil to the public a major investment project that would bring about a broad shift in the country’s growth strategy.

The Blue House is also paying close attention to the issue of balanced growth between generations.

Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, said at a senior aides’ meeting at the Blue House on June 22 that tax revenue exceeding forecasts because of the semiconductor boom should be focused on projects for future generations.

Kang called for broad discussions on fiscal reform measures aimed at future generations, saying that if the government leaves piled-up problems untouched out of concern over social controversy, the burden on younger Koreans could spiral out of control.

He also called for current and future generations to share fairly the costs of running the country and urged officials to seek reasonable alternatives from the perspective of the national interest and future generations in order to secure funding for investment.

Kang also asked officials to ensure ample opportunities for future generations to participate directly in the policymaking process.

Ahn, the deputy spokesperson, said Kang sharply rebuked relevant departments over the death of a reservist in his 20s during training in Pocheon in May and a recent food poisoning outbreak at a reservist training site in Seoul’s Seocho district.

Kang said places where young people pause their livelihoods and devote their time to serve the country and the community must not become places filled with distrust. He instructed the relevant offices, including the defense secretary’s office, to review not only meals and hygiene but the entire reservist training system from the ground up.

Kang also referred to the recent arrest of salt farm operators in South Jeolla Province accused of assaulting and confining workers and subjecting them to abuse. He said it was devastating and shameful that labor exploitation and human-rights violations similar to the salt farm abuse cases in Sinan County in 2014 and 2021 had resurfaced in 2026.

He ordered related agencies, including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the National Police Agency, to conduct a full nationwide survey of employment conditions at salt farms, thoroughly check for similar cases and prepare effective measures to prevent a recurrence.

Park Sang-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter highseoul@hankyung.com