Chapter 230
Chapter 230
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Designing Tomorrow
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I had bought some time by throwing cold water on the post-Cold War dynamics.
To make effective use of this time, I prepared a presentation targeted at the heads of the nation's conglomerates.
I invited everyone from the top-ranked conglomerate down to the 30th largest.
The chairmen showed up even if it meant wheeling themselves in on wheelchairs to answer my summons.
"Your Excellency. It's an honor to be called here like this."
I exchanged greetings with the conglomerate chairmen and encouraged their achievements.
"You've hit the $1 billion export mark this time?"
"I-it's all thanks to Your Excellency and the nation's gracious support."
"How could that be my doing? It's because you and your company worked so hard."
The flattery didn't last long.
Once the chairmen and their entourages were seated, I unveiled the prepared presentation.
"Designing Korea's Tomorrow."
That was the title we had come up with.
As people watched, the staff struggled to flip the massive charts.
In the 21st century, you'd just press a button to advance slides, but here everything was manual.
The next page revealed numbers and graphs that mesmerized everyone.
It was a forecast of Korea's economic growth rates.
This year's projected growth for Korea was 10.5%.
Next year's estimate was 10%.
Unprecedented growth since the days of Dangun.
The following page compared the U.S. and Soviet growth rates and projections side by side.
At the end, the key point:
By 1962 standards, Korea would surpass the Soviet Union—a revelation the chairmen couldn't look away from.
They all knew about economic growth rates.
But what held their gaze was the thrilling fact that this nation would become the world's second-largest economy.
"Now, we have the number two spot in the world within sight. The era has arrived where it's Korea—not the Soviets—challenging America."
This wasn't hyperbole.
Why else would Kennedy and plenty of other U.S. politicians want to keep Korea in check?
It was because this country had grown into a heavyweight contender.
"But can this nation truly compete with America? Reality makes it hard to say yes. Even if Korea surpasses the Soviets in 1962, our economy would barely exceed 44% of America's."
For true competition, you needed to be at least 70% of your rival's size.
Otherwise, you needed something like the Soviets' "ideological weapon" to instill fear.
Korea had neither.
"So, what innovations do we need to truly rival America?"
The chairmen couldn't answer easily.
"The answer is simple: Raise hourly labor productivity."
Create a society where one Korean worker matches three Americans.
Of course, you couldn't boost productivity with words alone.
With a glance, the staff flipped to the next page.
"Korean corporate culture so far has been like this: Smoking whenever, handling personal matters during work hours. Long hours worked, but actual focused time was short. To get eight hours of real work, you'd need twelve. Is that efficient?"
Even if production workers toiled like machines, office staff didn't.
"So, we must reform mindsets to ensure only necessary conversations and actions during work."
It wasn't great for workers—increased intensity—but the mindset shift was essential.
To keep Korean companies dominant, we needed steady gains in hourly productivity.
"Second, pursue zero defects in production. The current 'value-for-money Korea' image isn't enough."
To truly compete with America, Korea had to monopolize the premium market.
That required trust in Korean products as reliable.
We had introduced the K certification mark early on, but without companies prioritizing quality, uplifting "Made in Korea" as a whole was tough.
Germany of quality.
That was the positioning I wanted from original-history Germany.
"Your Excellency. Zero defects isn't as easy as it sounds."
One chairman spoke cautiously.
He was right; zero defects was no simple task.
But would I, Yi Seong-jun, mention zero defects without a plan?
I had the solution.
The zero-defects movement popular in the original history from the '90s to 2000s.
Six Sigma.
Six Sigma was a quality management technique developed by original-history Motorola, revolutionary enough for rivals like General Electric to adopt.
"It's hard for people to achieve zero defects. So, we need systems that pursue it."
I introduced DMAIC—Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control—and DMADV—Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify.
The chairmen showed keen interest in this cutting-edge management technique ahead of its time.
"Third, achieve economies of scale. We need national-level monopolies through mergers and acquisitions."
I signaled my willingness to permit such monopolies.
Fair competition?
That applied when rivals were limited to Korea.
Our enemies were America's dinosaur-like megacorporations.
To face them, we had to concentrate our resources maximally.
We were doing it in semiconductors and autos, but other sectors lacked that scale.
"Your Excellency. Mergers and acquisitions are essential for monopolies. But who here would willingly give up their company?"
That's why I had prepared.
With a gesture, the staff turned the page.
Permitting hostile takeovers.
Through this structural reform, I intended to forge Korean companies into behemoths.
"Fourth, seek blue oceans."
For Korea to compete with America, settling for developed markets was risky.
With the U.S. and Europe potentially turning hostile anytime, we couldn't hang our fate on them alone.
To hedge, we needed to proactively seize opportunities in emerging markets and the Second World.
"Of course, blindly jumping in at the corporate level would be irresponsible. That's why we'll provide government intelligence data."
We declared we'd share state-collected data with companies.
This included KCIA materials.
"Intelligence agency data?"
"If needed for business, we'll provide as much as required."
No lie there.
Post-Cold War, America shared NSA data with U.S. firms.
Why? Because corporate profits equaled national interests.
No reason we couldn't do the same.
While everyone's eyes were clouded by Cold War illusions, that was our chance.
In a world of ideologically blinded fools, the one pursuing national gain alone would win.
As I laid out designs for Korea's tomorrow, a strange excitement rippled across the chairmen's faces.
After the presentation, I circulated the tables, hearing them out.
"Your Excellency. Quality management might be harder than it seems."
Of course it was.
"But it's necessary. The state will support building Six Sigma systems."
Defects ate into profits like a headache.
Reducing them would leapfrog Korean competitiveness.
"If that's Your Excellency's will, we'll give it a try."
The chairmen generally responded positively to my proposals.
"Your Excellency. You mentioned permitting monopolies—how far exactly?"
It was Chairman Choi from the next era.
"100%. If possible, even 140% market share."
No joke—dead serious.
Superpowers like America, overflowing with resources and population, could afford antitrust laws splitting their own firms.
We had no such luxury.
The benefits of concentrating resources to thrash U.S. firms in the market outweighed monopoly downsides.
The "presentation designing Korea's tomorrow" ended in a warm, harmonious atmosphere.
And the mindset reform spread rapidly across the business world.
Proof the chairmen had taken me seriously.
Soon, even smaller firms buzzed about boosting productivity.
"Mindset reform is the measure of competitiveness. His Excellency said so."
Six Sigma caught on fast too.
'They sure learn profitable things quickly.'
Perhaps Six Sigma or the mindset reform would spread to America.
Korea was the world's focus now.
But copying our reforms overnight was impossible.
This wasn't the digital age of rapid info spread—it was analog.
America would need years to mimic us.
I was confident that gap would be Korea's greatest weapon.