Kospi Closes 2.3% Down on AI Tax Scare; US Tech Dips Mildly

South Korea's Kospi closed 2.3% lower on May 12, 2026, after tumbling as much as 5.1% intraday on a policy secretary's suggestion to redistribute excess AI profits to citizens as a dividend. Presidential aide Kim Yong-beom later clarified the intent was to leverage growing tax revenues without rate hikes, tempering the sell-off. The episode exposed policy risks in AI-fueled markets up 193% over 12 months, with limited spillovers to U.S. hyperscalers—Amazon -1.35%, Alphabet -3.03%—and broader S&P 500 benchmarks due to capex reinvestments.