South Korea's AI Chip Boom Creates Windfall for Elite While Wealth Gap Widens

South Korea's chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are capitalizing on global AI demand, generating massive wealth gains—with some executives seeing 3,000% bonuses—yet the benefits are concentrating among a narrow business elite. A high-profile divorce case involving SK Hynix shares highlights how AI chip valuations are reshaping fortunes, raising questions about whether ordinary workers and citizens will share in the country's AI-driven prosperity.

Why it matters: As chip manufacturing becomes central to AI infrastructure, how countries manage the wealth concentration that emerges from this boom will shape both economic inequality and public policy around AI development.