Episode 106. Insurance you don’t want to get.
I got a call that Apple CEO Steve Mars was coming to Korea.
I was waiting for him with President Lee Byung-hoon.
“Chairman Kang. Why did Steve say he was coming all of a sudden? Have you ever noticed that we are working on the next generation of drills?”
“It will not. Probably because of Super 301. For him, I have no choice but to worry that I will withdraw the drill from the US market altogether.”
This boss was bummed.
“If you’re worried like that, you should have put your hands on it before things got to this point. Now, what are you going to do?… Apple is a pretty big company, but it handles things a bit sloppy.”
“Maybe he wasn’t holding his hand. However, Apple is a big company, but compared to Wontel, it is just that. It’s already 20 times the market cap. If Wontel had been determined and lobbying, they would not have been able to stop it.”
Even if 20 years pass, the positions of Apple and Wontel will be reversed.
The current Apple company was not large enough to compete with Onetel.
The president’s face darkened at those words.
“Whew. So it means we are dealing with a giant company that even Apple cannot compare.”
I tapped the boss on the shoulder.
“president. You don’t have to be so down. There is no law that says you will be good at fighting just because you are big, and we have Drill 2. Are you saying that Drill 2 Core Custom is going well?”
My words brightened the president’s expression a little.
“yes. After all, the progress was quick because smart people gathered. Seongwook and other professors, who joined us this time, gave us a lot of good ideas, so we have already raised the driving clock to 0.05Ghz.”
“Then it’s about 1.05Ghz right now?”
“Yes. Besides, at this speed, I think we can increase it to 0.05Ghz by next month.”
“Ohh! 1.1 GHz. It’s better than I expected. To be honest, I didn’t know I would be able to get there.”
“As I said before, when Seongwook got his doctorate, he was such an outstanding guy that he got a scouting offer from one of the world’s leading semiconductor companies, including Wontel. It’s just that he chose school instead of a company because he liked research. So, this drill 2 can be said to be more amazing. It is said that it was an amazing thing that even Seongwook like that could attract.”
“Things like that are our weapon. So rest assured. It is a fight that cannot be lost.”
When I had finished speaking, I got a call from the front door of Sungwoon Logic’s headquarters saying that Steve and his friends had arrived.
We went out to the entrance to meet them.
Steve, who greeted Lee first, reached out to me.
“Mr. Kang. Long time no see. how have you been?”
“Okay, Mr. Mars, how are you?”
“..Actually, I haven’t been doing well. Wouldn’t these writers in the administration implement an absurd policy to restrict imports of Korean semiconductors, or would someone else have to pay for the portable PC I had been dreaming of first? There have been many sleepless nights.”
Steve looked into my eyes as he spoke the word ‘other’.
Well. As the developer of the iPad, it seems that you have guessed the power of my D-Tab.
Although it is unknown, it may have already started developing the tablet PC internally.
“I didn’t know Steve was dreaming of a PC like my D-Tab. I think everyone thinks the same.”
Steve spoke with a displeased expression on his face.
“..there may be many like-minded people, but only one of them is successful. After all, Mr. Kang was an opponent he couldn’t be vigilant about. He thought he was only interested in CPUs, but suddenly he expanded his scope to PC products as well. To be honest, I see Mr Kang as a strong competitor rather than a supplier of parts. But I don’t like the fact that the competitor’s parts are so good that they have no choice but to run like this.”
“haha. Thank you for appreciating the value of my drill CPU. Then, let’s go to the conference room and share the real story.”
We moved to the conference room and continued the conversation.
Steve asked me.
“It’s stupid I think, but anyway, the US administration has decided to take drills out of the US market. How are you going to respond? You don’t want to leave like this, are you?”
“Of course not. We are also thinking about how to respond right now, but if Apple can help, it might make things a little easier.”
“How can I help you? Just speak. We at Apple are ready to cooperate as much as possible.”
Also. It was worthwhile to deliberately burn Steve’s child.
I can speak well.
“Please move Apple’s computer assembly line in the US to a foreign country.”
“..an assembly line?”
“yes. If the drill is not imported directly into the US, you can avoid the 50% tariff, right? If you do that, you will have no problem importing our drills.”
Steve, who said he would listen to anything, made a puzzled expression on his face.
“Um… I don’t know about anything else, but moving the line overseas is not easy. First of all, the state of Texas where the line is will be against it. There will also be pressure from the administration. There are a lot of things I have to endure as public opinion is not going to get much better.”
“I know it’s difficult. So, we have prepared materials to help Mr. Mars make a decision. Let’s see.”
I handed Steve the material for Drill 2
Seeing this, he didn’t say anything for a while.
Has it been 5 minutes?
Steve raised his head and opened his mouth.
“..I hoped it, but I really succeeded in developing a follow-up version of the drill. Drill 1 alone is still showing good performance that Wontel CPUs can’t keep up with, but this is really…”
Steve continued, suppressing his intense emotions.
“A genius like you was not satisfied with its amazing performance, and was preparing for a fatal blow that would cut off the will of other companies to pursue.”
“I’m a little bit mentally weak. Just thinking that someone is chasing near me makes me nervous and I can’t stand it. So what do you do? You have to keep stirring.”
Steve looked at me like he was looking at a monster.
“.. that means that we will not tolerate even an inch of negligence. It’s really scary. Mr. Kang.”
“haha. In this world, only such people survive, right? I don’t think Mr. Mars is very different from me, is it?”
“..Yes, but I don’t have a genius like you.”
Saying those words, Steve had a face confused by the alien emotions he felt for the first time in his life.
Could it be that you’re jealous of me?
Is Steve Mars, who developed the smartphone, which is not an exaggeration to say, the beginning of the future revolution, jealous of me?
haha. I’m in a state of ecstasy because I don’t feel good.
Steve shook his head as if to shake off his emotions and continued.
“How can a person be so perfect? Aren’t you supposed to be a robot inside?”
“It’s good for me to be a robot. You can’t sleep and you can’t eat. haha.”
“..what is the name of the sequel to that drill?”
“I did it with drill 2 simply.”
“When do you plan to start production of Drill 2?”
“We plan to place an order at the foundry at the beginning of next month, so we will have prototypes by the end of the month and mass production in early April.”
“..okay. Okay. We will seriously consider moving the assembly line.”
“yes. But there is no need to move quickly.”
“Please move the line only after Article 301 is triggered and special tariffs are actually imposed on the drill. Until then, you just need to prepare. And keep exposing to the press the gesture that the line has to be moved overseas because of the special tariffs on drills.”
Steve nodded as if he understood what I meant.
“Ah, you are telling the public that if Section 301 is triggered, there will be a loss of jobs in the United States. It will put pressure on the US administration.”
“That’s right. If the administration withdraws the activation of Article 301 through that pressure, there is no need to move the line.”
“..okay. I hope it doesn’t go to the worst.”
“It’s the same with me.”
Moving Apple’s line was insurance in case all of my other operations ended in failure.
As always, it’s best to have insurance so you don’t have to eat anything.
The meeting ended with that.
I saw Steve out of the office.
As we parted, Steve asked me.
“Then, will you send the drill 2 prototype as soon as it comes out?”
“of course. You are the best customer who purchases Drill 1 the most, but you have to treat him like that. Except for us, you will be able to see the prototype of Drill 2 first.”
Steve nodded with satisfaction.
“All right. It is worthwhile to come to Korea. I confirmed Mr. Lecture’s intentions accurately, and I even knew that a new product was being developed.”
“I’m glad you think so. Then go carefully.”
“yes. Good luck Mr. Robber. Next time, let’s do something good, not like this.”
“haha. Obviously it can.”
#Ulsan General Steel Headquarters.
Chairman Woo Kook-jae was meeting Jae-woon from an unfamiliar company called Damo-yeo.
Woo Guk-jae, who received Jae-woon’s business card, asked.
“Are you Director Kang Jae-Woon?”
“You want to talk about the acquisition of World Telecom?”
“I don’t know why you bring out things that are already finished. We have already signed a contract to take over the stake in World Telecom to Doosung Telecom.”
Jaewoon laughed inwardly.
‘haha. don’t know why. Still, he knows he’s at a disadvantage. Before starting negotiations, I want to win even a little bit, right?’
“Isn’t that acquisition contract illegal by the Fair Trade Commission?”
“That… there must have been a mistake. I will appeal to the High Court and fix it.”
“A mistake. Appeal. This is a violation of the Fair Trade Act. I don’t know if the Fair Trade Commission has approved it, don’t you know that if you fight under the law, you’ll never win?”
In fact, Woo Guk-jae had no intention of actually appealing.
However, since the Fair Trade Commission decides by raising hands, it could have been approved if only the members could convince them.
However, if the court fights based on the law, it was almost impossible to win because there was so much evidence that Doosung Telecom’s acquisition of World Telecom would violate the Fair Trade Act.
Guk-jae Woo, who remembered the face of the former Chairman of the Doosung Group, who had been arguing that it would be all right, sighed inwardly.
‘Heh, the president of a large corporation can’t convince the committee members to do it right, so he’s making things like this?’
“.. let’s say the acquisition contract has been voided. How much did you think about the price? As I said in advance, we can never exceed 1 trillion won or less.”
Jaewoon snorted.
“Huh. 1 joe? If you really want to, you’ll probably have to find another buyer. I have no intention of buying it at that price.”
At those words, Woo Guk-jae’s eyes fluttered.
