A single Facebook post erased billions from South Korea's stock market on May 12, 2026.
Kim Yong-beom, a top presidential policy advisor, proposed a "citizen's dividend" funded by taxes on semiconductor profits. The KOSPI index plummeted as much as 5.1% intraday. Chipmakers Samsung and SK Hynix led the selloff.
The government quickly clarified the proposal was Kim's personal opinion, not official policy. The KOSPI recovered some losses, closing down roughly 2-3%.
The proposal aimed to redistribute existing tax revenues from AI and semiconductor profits into a national dividend for citizens. South Korea's semiconductor exports reached $141 billion in 2025.