Super Synergy Effect
“Aigoo, Chairman. It’s not like I’m ignoring product and technology development to go all-in on real estate speculation.”
Product development? He already had the next item after Keyboard Warrior in mind. New technology? Innovations the people of this era couldn’t even imagine would soon appear through his upcoming products.
“What I’m saying is that while developing new products and technologies is a given, we also need stable revenue streams to consistently support those innovation efforts. Imagine how reassuring it would be to have steady monthly income regardless of sales fluctuations.”
Yoo Jae-won wondered whether he should lay out a full SWOT analysis. At the same time, a small doubt crept in: why was he handing over such valuable information to Sambo Computer only to receive the chairman’s scolding? This was information that would later prove more precious than gold. Sambo Computer would thrive alongside Korea’s computer industry for the next decade or so, but after the 2000s it would collapse entirely. The company had invested in pagers, wired internet, cable broadcasting, and even securities, yet every venture failed, leaving behind massive debt instead of profits.
Yoo Jae-won wanted to steer Sambo toward a much sounder path. If he could guide them to focus solely on the core keywords of the twenty-first century—mobile and high-speed internet—while strengthening their technology, the crisis that had struck Sambo in the 2000s would be far easier to overcome. Once the smartphone era arrived, they could achieve explosive growth. It was practically an enormous privilege he was offering them.
Still, this plan was a master strategy he had thoroughly verified in his previous life. The reason Sambo Computer had been chosen as his partner was clear. As confirmed through their dealings with ID Technology, they weren’t prone to heavy-handed power plays, and they paid on time without fail. This wasn’t special treatment for him alone; they treated all their partners the same way. They were definitely better than most chaebols.
Beyond those objective metrics, he also felt personal goodwill toward them. In his past life, around 1998, his parents had bought him a Sambo computer—his second after the 286 model. They had scraped together every last won to purchase it, so he had been deeply attached. Two years later, Sambo had upgraded it free of charge to the highest specifications of the day. It was their flagship Dreamsys Change-Up model, advertised by Korean pitching legend Park Chan-ho, promising a free upgrade after two years—and they had actually delivered. How wonderful it had felt to see his beloved computer transformed into the latest specs.
Moreover, in this life Sambo had approached him first, starting their connection on a positive note. It was only natural that his fondness for the company had grown.
“Hmm. You’re not wrong.”
The chairman couldn’t help but agree with Yoo Jae-won’s passionate explanation. Having a stable revenue source independent of sales was undeniably beneficial for management.
“I’ll give it some thought.”
“Of course. I understand your position as well.”
Yoo Jae-won didn’t press him to invest immediately. Even when suggesting real estate—an investment most people considered relatively safe—the chairman had reacted this way. Pushing further now would only fall on deaf ears.
Investing in real estate might seem conventional, yet it was such an undeniably correct answer that everyone flocked to it. That didn’t mean Yoo Jae-won intended to hold only real estate. While property values rose steadily, there were times when the dollar performed better, or when resources like gold and oil surged. Stocks, of course, remained an option as well. The strategy was to center investments on real estate while diversifying into other assets according to circumstances, maximizing returns.
Instead, Yoo Jae-won planned to do everything he could to ensure Sambo Computer didn’t waste the enormous profits it would earn during the golden 1990s on reckless ventures, but instead poured them into the mobile communications business that would lay golden eggs. He was already fed up with the tyranny of the three major telecom companies from his previous life. Both mobile and high-speed internet had been problems. They had thrown network neutrality out the window, extorting money from foreign internet companies while simultaneously squeezing domestic ones and stifling their growth. In the end, they had ruined Korea’s internet and mobile ecosystem.
If he could turn Sambo Computer into an alternative carrier and have ID Technology lead the market with innovative smartphones, dominating the global market would be child’s play.
“Thank you for understanding.”
Although Yoo Jae-won had slightly ruffled the chairman’s feathers, Sambo Computer’s treatment of him didn’t change much. They even went to a nearby hotel for lunch together—something that hadn’t happened before—so their rapport had clearly deepened.
“Shall we head to the Ministry of Communications now?”
Once they were back in the Grandeur, Yoo Jae-won named their next destination.
“Yes, sir!”
The response was oddly stiff. The driver, who had been relaxed throughout the trip to Seoul, suddenly answered like a fresh recruit standing at attention. The two employees who had accompanied them from Yeoju as bodyguards also looked tense.
“Huh? Why are you all acting like this? Just relax.”
Yoo Jae-won found the sudden formality awkward, but from the employees’ perspective it was inevitable. This was the first time they had seen him conduct business up close. Sitting across from the chairman of a mid-sized company headquartered in one of Seoul’s tallest buildings and speaking with him as equals made him look less like a twelve-year-old boy and more like a full-grown businessman. They had even been treated to lunch at a hotel. Although they hadn’t dined at the same table as the chairman and Yoo Jae-won, they had still received a proper meal at a separate table. That experience had completely changed how they viewed him. Until now, even though he was their employer, the relationship had felt more like neighborhood brothers; from this point on, his presence as their president had grown significantly stronger.
“Well, do as you like.”
“Yes, sir!”
After a few attempts, Yoo Jae-won gave up trying to loosen the atmosphere and simply let them settle it themselves.
Before long they arrived at their second destination: the Ministry of Communications. It wasn’t a police station or a prosecutor’s office, yet the three people in the car besides Yoo Jae-won grew even more rigid.
“You three can rest at a bakery or café nearby.”
If they came up with him again, they looked ready to have a nervous breakdown. The driver and the employee in the passenger seat immediately brightened, practically bouncing in their seats.
“No, sir. How could we let you go alone to such an important meeting?”
The employee sitting in the back with Yoo Jae-won was the exception. His name was Lee Kyung-sik, twenty-six years old, the eldest son of a butcher shop owner. Aside from having completed his military service and being physically strong, he had no other notable skills—yet he clearly had backbone. Once Lee Kyung-sik spoke up, the other employees couldn’t back down either.
In the end, Yoo Jae-won entered the main gate of the Ministry of Communications surrounded by his staff.
“Minister, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Yoo Jae-won of ID Technology. These are the employees who assist me.”
“Hahaha! Come in, come in. I’m glad to see you too. I’m Oh Myung. Have a seat, all of you. Make yourselves comfortable.”
Oh Myung gestured toward the plush chairs. Yoo Jae-won sat down at once, and his employees took seats beside him.
“I’d heard you were young, but seeing you in person is truly astonishing.”
The Minister of Communications was a forty-eight-year-old man with a gleaming forehead. Aside from that, his appearance was ordinary. A graduate of Seoul National University’s electrical engineering department who had earned his doctorate in the United States, he possessed exactly the right background for the position. He wasn’t a parachute appointee; he was a genuine technocrat whose expertise and career had been recognized.
Oh Myung was extremely well-disposed toward Yoo Jae-won. How could he not be? Yoo Jae-won’s very existence was the clearest proof that the projects Oh Myung had championed at the ministry had succeeded. Moreover, the news coming from America wasn’t mere media exaggeration—it was spreading like wildfire. Thanks to that, there was even talk that the Blue House was seriously considering him as chairman of the organizing committee for the World Expo they planned to bid for next year, staking the nation’s fortune on the effort.
After successfully hosting the Seoul Olympics, the government had sought a new flagship project. Seeing how other advanced nations had used world expos after the Olympics to solidify their status as developed countries, they had decided to pursue the bid. That advanced nation was none other than neighboring Japan, which had hosted the Tokyo Olympics and then successfully staged the Osaka World Expo, earning global recognition as a developed country.
Minister Oh Myung believed Yoo Jae-won’s existence had played a major role in the government awarding him that prestigious position. Naturally, both the government and the Blue House had taken notice of Yoo Jae-won as well. Today’s meeting had been arranged not only to commend his achievements but also to conduct preliminary coordination before the Blue House formally extended an invitation.
“I hear you’re doing big business not only here in Korea but in America as well?”
“Yes. Thanks to the latest communication technology called the internet, even a child like me was able to sell programs in the United States.”
Yoo Jae-won read the atmosphere and returned the compliment to Oh Myung. While Oh Myung hadn’t been directly involved with the internet itself, the communications infrastructure fell under the minister’s jurisdiction. Looking at his broader career, the connection wasn’t entirely absent either. His participation in the successful development of TDX—the electronic switching system that connected calls by recognizing dialed numbers without an operator—had triggered explosive growth in telecommunications. TDX had made modems possible; without it, there would have been no PC communications, and without PC communications, the internet itself would never have arrived.
“Are you facing any difficulties with your work?”
“Fortunately, everything is going smoothly. The only thing I’m a bit dissatisfied with is the speed of PC communications, but I expect it will improve significantly over time.”
“You’re saying the communication speed is lacking?”
It wasn’t quite the superluminal communications of the mid-twenty-first century, but he wouldn’t complain if they could at least reach the early internet speeds of 1 Mbps. The complaint stemmed from how painfully slow internet connections with the United States were.
“Hmm. Both I and my ministry have been thinking about that issue. That’s why we’re researching the possibility of building an ISDN network.”
ISDN?