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There’s some debate in the economics world about whether a “wage price spiral” exists in reality, and how much of a danger it poses. And yet the Bank of Korea is so alarmed by the massive bonuses being paid to workers building semiconductors that it has flagged this as an inflationary concern
A wage-price spiral is the concept of higher wages increasing consumer demand and pushing up prices as a result. This, in turn, pushes other employees to ask for higher salaries, and the spiral continues upward.
South Korea’s central bank seems worried about a version of this scenario. In a June 17 report, the Bank of Korea noted that inflationary pressures derived largely from energy prices, which have increased as a result of conflict in the Middle East.
However, the bank also noted that upward pressure on wages have prevailed in certain industries because of productivity improvements, labor market conditions, and the expansion of performance-based compensation.
Addressing the semiconductor industry in particular, the bank wrote that “performance-based bonuses have increased significantly in line with improvements in corporate performance. These income increases may expand household consumption capacity.”
Recent examples are plain to see: In late May, a deal mediated by the South Korean government between Samsung Electronics and unionized workers resulted in a profit-sharing agreement averaging a bonus of around $410,000, according to reports. Specifically in its semiconductor arm, Samsung will set aside around 10.5% of operating profits to make the performance-based payments.
Likewise, Reuters calculated earlier this year that chip workers at [hotlink]SK Hynix[/hotlink] can expect bonuses of more than 700 million won ($454,851) if the firm achieves an annual profit of 250 trillion won.
Despite the potentially inflationary impact, South Korea’s labor minister has suggested profit sharing from the massive AI boom could go even further. Kim Young-hoon said earlier this year that while the “remarkable” achievements of tech companies are thanks to the work of staff and management, suppliers such as those providing water and electricity—as well as local communities—should also benefit from the growth.
These income increases (either confirmed or suggested) impact prices in two ways, the Bank of Korea added: “First, through a cost channel, by increasing firms’ production costs, which may be reflected in prices, and second, through a demand channel, via increased consumption resulting from higher household income.
“The magnitude of these effects may vary depending on economic conditions and firms’ pricing environment.”
Can you ever pay too much?
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, and perhaps the poster boy for the AI boom, has made his thoughts on sharing the wealth created by the transformative technology clear: “I think people should be paid as much as possible.”
Speaking earlier this month at the Computex trade show in Taipei, he added: “I pay my employees as much as I can … That’s what I do, doesn’t make this right,” per Bloomberg.
Indeed, last year Fortune reported that two of Nvidia’s C-Suite had become billionaires thanks to the soaring stock of the chipmaker (up 63% over the past year). Nvidia’s CFO Colette Kress and its executive vice president of world field operations, Jay Puri, tipped over the 10-digit mark in July 2025, per calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
