Korea has rarely been content to watch a technological revolution from the sidelines. As an industrialized, export-dependent economy, it has repeatedly sought to act early, build domestic capacity and capture first-mover advantage. Now Seoul is putting all its chips (quite literally) on artificial intelligence (AI). In a public briefing to the nation in June this year, President Lee Jae Myung announced what he hopes will be his administration’s legacy defining economic vision: the three AI and chip megaprojects. The plan will invest trillions of won to transform the nation into a top AI powerhouse. Yet reading the press release on a hot summer’s day in Seoul, I couldn’t help but notice a sinking feeling in my stomach. I began to ponder: Is Korea about to repeat an old mistake? Over the preceding months, I had been examining another attempted transformation of the Korean economy: the green transition. In particular, I wanted to understand the role afforded to organized labour groups as respective administrations sought to restructure and decarbonize some of the country’s most imp