South Korea presidential office policy chief Kim Yong-beom warned semiconductor profits from the AI boom could flow into the property market. He said semiconductor margin gains have pushed nominal growth to its fastest in over 20 years, while benefits remain uneven: Q1 real GDP rose 3.8% and real gross domestic income climbed 13.2%, indicating chip-price-driven purchasing power has outpaced output. Kim said most of the income gain has yet to circulate broadly but could appear in coming quarters

2026-06-22

South Korea presidential office policy chief Kim Yong-beom warned semiconductor profits from the AI boom could flow into the property market. He said semiconductor margin gains have pushed nominal growth to its fastest in over 20 years, while benefits remain uneven: Q1 real GDP rose 3.8% and real gross domestic income climbed 13.2%, indicating chip-price-driven purchasing power has outpaced output. Kim said most of the income gain has yet to circulate broadly but could appear in coming quarters via bonuses, wage increases and repatriated export earnings, potentially supporting luxury spending and housing demand. He warned that historically such excess liquidity has often ended up in real estate and it is hard to assume this cycle will be different.