The Phenol Spill's Fallout
A few days had passed since the rule-breaking incident.
— Government Launches Emergency Investigation into Industrial Complexes Near the Nakdong River!
— Busan Group Chairman Park Sang-yong Resigns Abruptly, Taking Responsibility for the Phenol Leak.
— Mirae Electronics' Second Semiconductor Plant Goes Eco-Friendly! The Existing First Plant Also Receives Further Environmental Upgrades!
As expected, the Nakdong River phenol incident began dominating television screens and newspaper headlines. Thanks to Yoo Jae-won's timely eco-friendly remarks, Mirae Electronics remained firmly in the spotlight as well. The contrast was stark: Busan Electronics had operated its factories without regard for the environment, freely using toxic chemicals, while Mirae Electronics was investing hundreds of billions to build an environmentally conscious semiconductor plant. Media outlets under Jeon Myeong-heon's influence amplified this point relentlessly.
Because Busan Electronics was a subsidiary of the Busan Group, the name "Busan" became synonymous with phenol, while "Mirae Electronics" became associated with eco-friendly practices. Even though Park Sang-yong, chairman of the Busan Group, resigned in a dramatic show of accountability, the repercussions showed no signs of abating. A nationwide boycott of the Busan Group had begun. The hardest hit was their liquor business. The actual culprit was a small electronics subsidiary, yet the parent company's flagship, Busan Brewery—the very foundation of the Busan Group and still its strongest revenue source—took the heaviest damage.
After the phenol accident, sales of Busan Brewery's products plummeted. Returns piled up, and brown beer bottles accumulated in the yard outside the factory. When the government launched its emergency investigation, the Busan Group could no longer withstand the pressure, forcing the chairman to resign. Yet the public's cold gaze refused to soften.
The phenol leak had occurred near Gumi City's water intake, cutting off tap water across the entire city. Downstream along the Nakdong River, dilution had reduced the concentration, and cleanup efforts kept contamination levels below regulatory limits, so water supply was not halted. Still, the sharp chemical odor made drinking the water unthinkable. What began as the smell of chlorophenol later turned into the pungent stench of disinfectant chemicals poured into the river in massive quantities.
In the Nakdong River region, water purifiers sold out overnight, and many households—though technically illegal at the time—began purchasing bottled water. Yoo Jae-won stared at the news in surprise.
"People are finally buying bottled water?"
Upon checking, he recalled that bottled water sales had been briefly permitted during the 1988 Olympics, only to be banned again once the Games ended. The phenol incident had shattered public trust in tap water, and the bottled water market was beginning to emerge—a fact he confirmed within his Memory Palace.
— Prosecutors investigating the Nakdong River phenol contamination have arrested six Busan Electronics employees on the 21st. Today, they detained an additional nine individuals, including seven Ministry of Environment officials and the CEO and production manager of Gumi's Shinseong Enterprise, which was caught illegally discharging pollutants.
— President Roh Tae-woo has dismissed the Minister of Environment, the Vice Minister, and several bureau chiefs, holding them accountable for the phenol leak and water quality management failures.
Constitutional amendments had opened the door to local autonomy, and the first local elections were only days away. The basic council elections, the foundation of local self-governance, were scheduled for the 26th, while the metropolitan council elections would follow on June 20th. Even politicians who normally carried themselves with stiff pride bent their backs during election season. The President was no exception. Eager to contain the political damage from the phenol incident—an enormous liability for the ruling party—he moved swiftly to resolve the crisis.
After quickly scanning the morning news, Yoo Jae-won began his usual work. His first appointment was a communication with Electronic Arts, ID Group's very first partner company.
— Doom has become a million-seller! A new record for fastest sales!
Hawkins' excited message arrived through ID Talk. Many people had come to realize that exchanging messages via ID Talk was far more efficient than phone calls for business matters. As internet adoption grew, so did ID Talk's download numbers.
Ding!
A clear notification sounded, and a graph appeared in the chat window—the daily sales chart for Doom. The line climbed steadily upward, confirming that sales were increasing every single day. Previously, received image files had to be opened separately, but now they displayed directly in the chat window, thanks to ongoing version updates. ID Talk was currently at version 0.7.4, meaning seven major updates had been followed by four additional bug fixes.
With each major update, ID Talk continued evolving into a modern messenger. Compared to its initial public release, the transformation was nothing short of revolutionary. Yet it had not yet been bumped to the symbolic version 1.0, as the plan was to align its release with Android 1.0.
Android 1.0 was nearly complete. Developer versions had already been distributed to software companies creating applications for Android Alpha, major game developers, and computer security firms. Unlike the DOS-compatible Alpha, Android 1.0 was a completely redesigned Unix-based system, requiring an enormous amount of new development. Without early distribution, there was a real risk that no compatible applications would be ready on launch day.
"Thank you. It seems the strong support from President Hawkins is helping drive sales."
Yoo Jae-won offered the appropriate lip service. With Doom's explosive potential, even Activision—with its weaker distribution network—could have easily sold a million copies.
— You're too kind. We won't be satisfied with this alone. Doom has the power to set a new standard in game software revenue. By the way, how is ESD performing?
As expected of a businessman, Hawkins inquired about ESD. He clearly understood that online software sales could deal a fatal blow to traditional distribution channels.
"On good days, we sell around a hundred copies. On slower days, fewer than thirty. It's quite inconsistent."
In the beginning, when online sales were still novel, hundreds of copies had sold daily. But as time passed, the numbers declined. Over the past week, the average hovered around fifty copies per day.
— Hmm, that's unfortunate.
To Hawkins, the sight of Doom selling tens of thousands of copies daily offline while managing only fifty online must have seemed pitiful. It was a number that warranted sympathy, especially considering the effort invested in building a card payment system for PC communications. Yet given the current state of data networks, fifty copies was actually quite substantial. Fewer than ten percent of American PC communication users had ISDN. Most North American users still relied on modems running at a mere 9,600 bps or 14.4 Kbps—painfully slow speeds. Doom required the equivalent of eight 3.5-inch floppy disks, meaning users had to leave their computers downloading all day just to play.
In Korea, however, aggressive marketing by Nextcom had accelerated ISDN adoption at remarkable speed. The Information Superhighway project, personally mentioned by the President, was progressing steadily. Thanks to government initiative, schools with computer labs received ISDN connections, and many PC communication users switched from modems to the faster, more affordable ISDN service. Nextcom Korea's paid user base had grown to nearly 400,000—numbers Ketel could never have handled.
As subscriber numbers rose, concurrent connections increased, placing heavy demands on the servers. In the past, simply moving to the next post on a bulletin board could freeze the system. Those days were now distant memories. The servers powering Nextcom were mainframes purchased from IBM—top-tier models with an enormous number of connected lines. Even when simultaneous users exceeded 20,000, Nextcom maintained its usual responsive performance. Those who had grown frustrated with Ketel's inadequate servers rejoiced and became enthusiastic evangelists, bringing in new users.
— You can look forward to even better news next time! Electronic Arts will do its utmost for its partners!
"Yes, I'll be counting on you."
President Hawkins continued emphasizing Electronic Arts' dedication to selling Doom until the very end. He clearly wanted to secure distribution rights for Doom's successor as well. Having confirmed that ESD posed no real threat, his confidence had noticeably increased.
"Hmm, I wonder how Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon is handling the negotiations."
After wrapping up the ID Talk session with Hawkins, Yoo Jae-won thought of Jeon Myeong-heon. The chairman was currently negotiating technology transfer for NAND flash memory with Toshiba on behalf of Mirae Electronics' president. Honestly, Yoo Jae-won had wanted to handle the negotiations himself. Toshiba did not yet understand the true value of the NAND flash memory technology they had developed. He, on the other hand, knew it all too well.
The problem was that showing too much eagerness during negotiations might reveal just how desperately he wanted the technology, potentially alerting Toshiba to its greater worth. After careful consideration, he had entrusted the matter to Mirae Electronics and Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon. Jeon Myeong-heon also lacked deep knowledge of NAND flash technology—he only knew it was a promising field based on Yoo Jae-won's recommendation. Yoo Jae-won believed that if anyone could secure the technology at a reasonable price without tipping off Toshiba, it would be the skilled negotiator Jeon Myeong-heon.
The negotiations were still ongoing. The longer they dragged on, the more he worried they might fall through.
"Chairman Jeon isn't the type to be easily outmaneuvered. He'll manage."
Yoo Jae-won decided to wait a little longer. Contacting him now might interfere with the talks, so he refrained from calling. When his mind grew restless, coding was the best remedy. He opened the source code he had been working on and began programming.
A few minutes later, his executive secretary Kim Dae-seok reported, "Mr. Chairman, you have a visitor."
A visitor? His schedule showed no meetings. Yoo Jae-won typically required at least three days' notice for appointments.
"Who is it?"
"A Mr. Park Sang-kwon."
Park Sang-kwon? The name sounded familiar.
"Ah!"
As he repeated the name, the memory clicked into place. The president of the rice bran oil factory. He had grown so used to referring to him as "the rice bran oil president" that the name had momentarily slipped his mind. It was Park Sang-kwon.
"Please bring him up right away. No—I'll go down to greet him myself."
Yoo Jae-won corrected himself immediately. This man was the benefactor who had laid the foundation for ID Group. Even going out in his socks to welcome him would not be enough.