Chapter 90: Competition Among Domestic Companies
Chapter 90: Competition Among Domestic Companies
I visited DK Bioscience and met with the chairman of DK Group.
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Kim Shin.”
“I’m Choi Jong-won.”
In the past, I rarely had the chance to meet employees of large corporations, but now, whenever I met someone, it was the chairman of a group.
Though he wasn’t as popular with the public as Chairman Seon Jae-yong, he was still a man who had achieved remarkable business results.
He had boldly acquired Hynix for 3.4 trillion won when everyone advised against it.
He transformed DK, which had been stuck as a domestic company, into an export-oriented enterprise.
Now, DK Hynix’s market capitalization exceeded 60 trillion won.
‘That’s more than all the profits I’ve made so far.’
While there was a tendency to underestimate Korea, the power of its corporate conglomerates was formidable.
And then, Chairman Choi Jong-won made a request.
“DK would also like to expand our collaboration with Earth Resource into the cloud business sector.”
“…Pardon?”
“DK Hynix would like to take charge of building Earth Resource’s data centers.”
This sounded familiar.
Just like Isung Group, DK was also coveting the data center proposal.
‘So they see themselves as a rival group.’
Isung might be offended at being called a domestic competitor, but it was true that a rivalry had recently formed, centered around memory semiconductors.
DK Group was eyeing the number two spot in the corporate rankings, employing aggressive investment and expansion strategies.
Both Isung Biologics and DK Bioscience had grabbed hold of the Biolife lifeline.
Now, both groups were looking for another opportunity through Earth Resource.
‘This is a good proposal for me.’
If DK joined Isung Group in the running, I could gain the upper hand in negotiations.
Having quickly processed this, I smiled and spoke.
“I will consider it very seriously. I’ll have my representatives contact you about the details.”
I had a meal with Chairman Choi Jong-won at the restaurant of a traditional hanok hotel in Songdo.
Perhaps it was the dignity of a major corporation’s chairman. We ate special dishes prepared by the chef, not items from the regular menu.
* * *
To compete on a larger global stage, I needed to accelerate my growth.
Was it too ambitious to want half the revenue that Google or Microsoft earned from their cloud services?
It was an achievable goal if Earth Resource could maintain its current growth rate.
Above all, Earth Resource’s business was attractive.
Talented employees were being recruited, and new business divisions could be launched at any time.
‘I’ll show them what true octopus-like expansion is.’
For IT companies, extending their tentacles might be a necessity.
Microsoft, which started with an operating system, expanded its business into messengers, office software, chat, internet calls, search engines, video games, and the cloud.
Even the mice produced by Microsoft had been best-sellers for a long time.
Google, which became the world’s best with its search engine, now earned profits from a video platform and a mobile operating system, while investing heavily in artificial intelligence.
The Korean method of discovering new markets and aggressively deploying skilled employees, technology, and capital to dominate them seemed, perhaps, to be the right answer in the IT world.
- Kim Shin: Let’s proceed with negotiations for the data center you mentioned last time.
- Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Thank you. We will find the best possible proposal and come to you.
And to the other person as well.
- Kim Shin: I’d like to begin negotiations regarding the data center.
- Chairman Choi Jong-won: Yes. I will send a team of working-level executives, at the managing director level.
I wasn’t sure how many data centers Earth Resource would build.
No one knew to what extent the cloud business would expand or how the grid network would be utilized.
Nevertheless, it was certain to be a project worth trillions of won.
- Kim Shin: Before you join Biolife, there’s something I need you to do if you have the time.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: Yes. Just give me the order, CEO.
Being addressed so formally by the man I had served as a team leader for over four years still felt strange.
- Kim Shin: I need to conduct negotiations for the construction of the data centers. The negotiating partners are Isung Group and DK Group.
- Team Leader An Myeong-guk: What?
- Kim Shin: Please review the proposals from both companies and meet with them to proceed with the negotiations.
- Kim Shin: We will be proceeding with this as a project worth over 3 billion dollars.
Now that Team Leader An Myeong-guk was my man, I planned to make full use of him.
I intended to continue supporting Biolife, and I planned to make him the general manager for affairs related to various domestic companies.
‘And the COVID crisis is the most important thing of all.’
During my five-day stay in Korea, the third phase of the vaccine clinical trials was underway in the United States.
There was still no news of any problems, which meant it was heading toward success.
I hadn’t forgotten Dr. Lee Ho-yeon’s warning at the hospital that variants of COVID could emerge and that humanity could face even more dangerous infectious diseases.
That was why Lee Ho-yeon wanted to expand the research institute significantly and hire more personnel.
It was a project that required at least 2 trillion won.
‘His prediction could be wrong. Still, if he was right once, he could be right again, so I need to prepare.’
I want to make a lot of money. But how should I make it? How should I spend it?
I had reached a conclusion.
- Kim Shin: Dr. Lee Ho-yeon. I’m contacting you about what you mentioned at the hospital the other day.
- Lee Ho-yeon: Yes. I feel like I might have made an unreasonable request. You’ve already helped me so much.
- Kim Shin: No, it’s fine. I’d like to tell you my decision.
- Kim Shin: Biolife will generate a net profit of over 10 billion dollars. That’s assuming the clinical trials are passed and the vaccine is sold.
- Kim Shin: The over 2 trillion won you requested. It’s a large sum, but not an unmanageable one. However, increasing research staff and expanding facilities will raise fixed costs, which won’t be good for the company.
- Lee Ho-yeon: I am also concerned about that, but…
- Kim Shin: That’s why I’ve decided to reinvest all of Biolife’s profits.
- Lee Ho-yeon: What?
The feeling of surprising someone who had dedicated his life to medical research must be something only the super-rich could experience.
- Kim Shin: I will not take any of the profits earned by Biolife as dividends. All profits will be reinvested.
- Kim Shin: I heard from Professor Paul about the versatility of artificial intelligence. I hope to expand our research and development into all fields, not just infectious diseases.
- Kim Shin: I, too, want to contribute to your dream of giving hope to people suffering from illness, to those who have lost their lives. Please focus on your research without any worries.
Biolife.
I decided to make it a company for the lives of the living.
Even if I made a fortune in IT, I should have at least one company that does good in the world.
* * *
Mirae Group knew very well how much effort was required to make a single company successful.
A business that started with car repairs had expanded into construction, automobiles, shipbuilding, and heavy industry.
While building a bridge, the entire group faced bankruptcy and had to survive on private loans. That very construction project later earned a massive amount of foreign currency from the Middle East, contributing to the national economy.
In an era when they had never built a single ship, they secured a loan using the turtle ship on a banknote and became the world’s number one shipyard.
The legend that was Mirae Group.
Chairman Jin Myeong-il understood his grandfather’s achievements well.
“Just twenty years ago, Mirae Group represented the Korean economy, but we were pushed aside by Isung Group and relegated to the number two spot.”
“…”
There was a time when Mirae Group’s business was twice the size of Isung Group’s.
Those were the days of success in heavy, manufacturing-based industries.
Twenty, thirty years ago, they had looked down on Isung Group for selling trivial things.
“Mirae Group, which once led the Republic of Korea, is falling behind the times.”
“…”
The three people sitting before Jin Myeong-il.
His two sons and one daughter listened to their father in silence.
Mirae Group represented the history of South Korea’s modernization.
The eldest son, Jin Seok-yong, spoke cautiously.
“Father. Once the Global Business Center in Gangnam is completed, people will see Mirae Group in a new light.”
Jin Myeong-il’s face contorted further.
He had won the bid for the incredibly expensive piece of land because his father, the former chairman, had wanted it, but he doubted how much added value a skyscraper could generate in this day and age.
Jin Seok-yong continued.
“The land prices have risen significantly. We will earn more than the group’s annual profit, and the increase in assets will raise the company’s value.”
Jin Myeong-il glared at his eldest son, Jin Seok-yong.
“Since when did Mirae Group become a real estate company?”
“Well…”
“You should be thinking about making money through business activities. Expanding the company’s scale, advancing technology, making good products, and retaining excellent employees. Can’t you still understand that this is what makes a great manager? That’s why you are lacking.”
The crown prince of Mirae Group.
Jin Seok-yong lowered his head to hide his trembling eyes.
He was diligently receiving management training, but he was still falling short of his father’s expectations.
Besides, his father had only recently become chairman, so he had no idea when his turn would come.
The second son, Jin Doo-yeol, spoke up.
“Father. The electric vehicle project is proceeding successfully. There are very few car companies that can mass-produce electric vehicles with the same level of quality as ours.”
The electric cars released by Mirae Motors were immensely popular.
They were well-received not only in Korea but also in Europe and the United States, selling out as soon as they were produced.
“That’s something you should be doing as a car company. Others pioneered the market, and you’re just following them. You should be thinking about getting ahead of the pack. Lacking. You’re lacking.”
“…”
The second son was also swiftly rebuked and lowered his head.
The third son, who was not present, had no interest in management or succession and was in Europe to pursue painting.
The fourth, who was greedy but lacked ability, had been sent off to the Middle East to work in sales.
Jin Myeong-il’s gaze turned to his daughter, Jin Yoo-kyung.
He had never once been angry with his daughter.
There were whispers of favoritism, but everyone accepted it as a matter of course.
“Yoo-kyung.”
“Yes, Father.”
“How are things with Kim Shin?”
Jin Yoo-kyung tilted her head.
Was this a topic to bring up so suddenly in the middle of a serious discussion about Mirae Group’s management?
“Why… do you ask?”
“Get along well with that fellow.”
“What? You’ve always been against me dating.”
“That’s because all those other guys were never good enough in my eyes.”
Whenever Jin Yoo-kyung had liked someone, he had interfered in various ways.
But this time, it seemed he would give his permission, and there was a clear reason for it.
A bio-company with a market capitalization of over 8 trillion won.
To a manager, the company is an extension of oneself, and just looking at Isung Biologics made his stomach ache.
If only Mirae Group had a bio-business, they could have reaped those rewards.
“But he might already have a woman.”
“What? How would you know, Dad?”
“I know as a man. At his age, with that kind of money and looks, there’s no way he doesn’t have a woman.”
“…”
“Anyway, be brave. There are always competitors for a treasure.”