Korea should capitalize on the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven semiconductor boom rather than curb growth over concerns about its heavy reliance on chips, while building economic resilience through stabilization funds and greater structural flexibility, according to the chief economist of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Tuesday. "I wouldn't kill the goose that lays the golden egg. It's weird to kill AI just because it's volatile. Let's find ways to adjust," Laura Alfaro, chief economist and economic counselor of the IDB, said during a press conference. "Right now, the game is AI, and Korea is growing faster than other countries. It happened because for many years you have built the production and infrastructure." Alfaro drew parallels between Korea's dependence on semiconductors and the "resource curse" in Latin America, where economies heavily reliant on natural resources are vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices. The region is rich in minerals and oil, whose prices can fluctuate sharply, much like those of semiconductors. To manage such cycles, Alfaro recommende