Lee Jae-myung, Criticizing the Ruling Party's 'K-NVIDIA' Remarks: "Ignorant and Foolish... How Can They Handle National Affairs?"

Democratic Party Supreme Council Meeting on the 5th
Lee Calls on Ruling Party for "AI Debate" Just Before Closing the Meeting

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the ruling party's criticism surrounding the 'K-NVIDIA equity sharing theory,' saying, "As everyone knows, TSMC also has 48% government investment equity," and added, "I cannot understand how they intend to govern the country with the ignorant idea that 'only South Korea should not invest in future advanced industries.'

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th. March 5, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

At the Democratic Party's Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido on the 5th, Lee said about the K-NVIDIA equity sharing theory, "(The ruling party) talks about socialism and communism, but with this level of knowledge and economic awareness, they cannot overcome the waves of the challenging advanced industrial era." He further explained, "Large-scale investments in future advanced industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) cannot be handled by private companies alone," and "If it becomes an issue in international competition, the entire nation can invest together and share the results in the form of a sovereign wealth fund or a national fund."

Earlier, on the 2nd, during an AI expert dialogue released by the Democratic Research Institute, Lee said, "If a company like NVIDIA is established in Korea and 70% of the shares are private while 30% are shared by all citizens, wouldn't that create a society that does not rely on taxes?" In response, ruling party lawmakers, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform New Party negatively evaluated this as predatory economics, anti-market, and socialist.

Lee explained, "Unlike in the past, future advanced industries require enormous large-scale investments," adding, "Even to secure just 100,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), it costs about 5 trillion won."

He continued, "We need to change our thinking even now," and added, "Government investment and fiscal investment in future advanced industries, especially AI, as well as national-level investments, are absolutely necessary and need to be prepared."

Kim Min-seok, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, also pointed out, "Because opposition and disputes have become a habit, (the People Power Party) has completely lost its way with futile efforts," and said, "The whole world is strengthening industrial policies and emphasizing concentrated national investment, so why talk about socialism?"

Just before the meeting ended, Lee proposed, "Various people from the People Power Party have expressed opinions, and I hope we can have an open discussion on AI technology investment, the state's role in it, the future of the AI industry, and military modernization," adding, "Any format is fine, so let's have a debate once."

Meanwhile, regarding Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is delaying the appointment of constitutional court nominee Ma Eun-hyuk, Lee said, "This is going too far," and added, "I hope the constitutional procedures are promptly followed."