Chapter 16. “Who Made This?” Major Korean and Japanese Corporations Become Obsessed at the Same Time
Chapter 16. “Who Made This?” Major Korean and Japanese Corporations Become Obsessed at the Same Time
“One week from now. In the United Kingdom.”
Seo Dojin, the Presidential Secretary for Defense Affairs, spoke in an exceptionally grave voice.
The Deputy Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine desperately wanted to meet me.
“This is a Level 1 classified matter. No one other than you may know about it, Hyesung. If handled carelessly, it could develop into a diplomatic issue.”
“Understood. When do we leave?”
“One week from now. I will personally escort you to the United Kingdom.”
There was no way I could enter Ukraine while the war was still raging.
That was why the meeting would be conducted in absolute secrecy in the United Kingdom.
Ding-dong-dang-dong—
The bell rang, and the classroom instantly filled with noise.
“What are you thinking about so seriously?”
Taeju, whose eyes were sunken from exhaustion, looked at me worriedly.
“Huh? Oh… the meeting in the UK. You know, that thing.”
The number of secrets I could not reveal even to my closest friend kept growing.
I vaguely brushed him off and hurriedly changed the subject.
“More importantly, Taeju. How is the new factory purchase going?”
“The building purchase agreement is almost finished. What about you? How is the automated equipment coming along?”
“The design is complete. I just need to find somewhere capable of machining the parts exactly according to the drawings.”
As the paradigm of modern warfare shifted toward drone warfare, demand for HPM, or High-Power Microwave, drones was exploding.
They were defensive drones priced at one hundred million won per unit.
We desperately needed a huge factory capable of producing them in large quantities.
Our current small factory could barely keep up with the orders we already had.
If my design could be implemented perfectly, machines would independently handle eighty-five percent of the entire production process without human intervention.
Considering that the existing automation rate was only around fifteen percent, it would be a genuine quantum leap.
The problem was that achieving that “perfect implementation” was nearly impossible with the current level of technology on Earth.
Some time later.
“Ah, this is… completely impossible.”
“Is there really no way? You only need to machine it exactly to the specifications in the drawings…”
“This level of ultra-precise control cannot be achieved. To be honest, this is science fiction.”
I sent requests to numerous major domestic corporations reputed for precision manufacturing, but every answer was the same.
Industry experts treated my designs as absurd fantasies.
The specifications exceeded what current technology could realistically achieve.
In the end, I had only two options.
Either lower my standards and give up some of the automation rate, or establish a machining company myself that could somehow produce that insane level of precision.
At that moment, someone’s face suddenly flashed through my mind.
Your company is now a valuable national asset.
Instead of running around trying to find someone myself, should I ask the government to search for a company?
I wondered whether it was really acceptable to ask the President of an entire country for help with something that primarily benefited me.
Still, I felt desperate enough to grasp at any straw.
The Office of the President of the Republic of Korea.
“Mr. President, we received an urgent message from Ryu Hyesung.”
The Chief Presidential Secretary hurriedly entered the office.
“What happened?”
“He has requested help finding a company capable of manufacturing the automated production equipment for the HPM drones.”
“He has already finished it? That student?”
The HPM drone was regarded as one of the most critical defensive systems in modern warfare.
Even the President himself had once casually told Hyesung that he would have no regrets if the system could be developed within five years.
“If he has already designed the production equipment… that means the drone itself must have been completed long ago.”
Goosebumps rose along the President’s arms.
Just how far ahead was that young genius looking?
There was a reason the entire country had become desperate to keep him.
The National Intelligence Service’s judgment had been correct.
“Secretary Kim.”
The President’s expression became solemn.
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“Mobilize the full capabilities of the country and find a company capable of manufacturing that equipment. If the necessary technology does not exist domestically, seek cooperation overseas and find someone no matter what.”
“Understood.”
A single request made by an ordinary high school student set the South Korean government into motion.
Agency for Defense Development, ADD.
The director stared intently at the “design drawings” sent down by the Office of the President.
“Who designed this?”
“The VIP.”
A hollow laugh escaped the director.
So it was that kid.
The moment he saw the bizarre level of the designs, he immediately realized who had made them.
“I understand now.”
“What do you mean?”
The presidential staff member asked in confusion.
“I finally understand why that kid receives VIP treatment. He is a complete monster.”
“Is there any domestic company capable of implementing this?”
“In South Korea, only ‘some’ parts of it can be made. There is no company here capable of machining this insane level of precision in reality.”
“What?”
The faces of the presidential staff turned pale.
The President had personally ordered them to find someone by any means necessary.
“Then where can those ‘some’ parts be made?”
“For semiconductor control systems, LK Hynix should be capable of handling them.”
Japan Ministry of Defense, Defense Intelligence Headquarters.
Sato Shinji threw open the conference room door, breathing heavily.
A crumpled design drawing was clenched in his hand.
“Inspector, we have received new intelligence.”
“What happened?”
“The South Korean government just secretly contacted our side’s ‘Fanuc.’”
(Translator’s Note: FANUC — A Japanese industrial automation company specializing in CNC systems, industrial robots, and factory automation. Its roots lie in Fujitsu’s numerical-control development work; Japan’s first private-sector NC technology was developed in 1956, and Fujitsu FANUC became an independent company in 1972. The name derives from Fuji Automatic Numerical Control.)
Fanuc.
It was an ultimate industry giant that dominated the global market for ultra-precision CNC machine tools and industrial robots, not just in Japan but worldwide.
(Translator’s Note: CNC — An abbreviation for Computer Numerical Control. CNC machines use programmed numerical instructions to control machining tools automatically. Numerical-control technology developed during the mid-twentieth century, with computer-controlled systems later becoming fundamental to modern precision manufacturing.)
“They handed over part of the equipment design and asked whether Fanuc could construct an automated production system based on it.”
Kuroda Genshin, Technical Inspector of the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency, lowered his gaze toward the drawings Sato spread across the table.
“…I cannot understand this at all.”
Kuroda was himself an elite bureaucrat with an engineering background, but even he could not comprehend the bizarre design South Korea was trying to implement.
“According to analysis by our intelligence experts, it appears to be equipment intended for mass production of HPM drones. Naturally, the key technical portions have been cleverly omitted.”
“Does that mean South Korea has already reached the stage where it can mass-produce complete HPM drones…?”
Leading defense companies around the world were currently staking everything on the race to develop drone interception systems.
However, none had reached the final stage of development.
“Even the world’s top-tier defense contractors have only just begun taking their first steps.”
Sato shook his head in disbelief.
“This design. Which South Korean institution produced it?”
Kuroda naturally assumed that the Agency for Defense Development had mobilized the full resources of the state.
“It was not designed by a government organization.”
“Then who?”
“Our intelligence indicates that it came from a single private company.”
“What did you say?”
A name flashed through Kuroda’s mind.
Ryu Hyesung.
The very monster Japan had once tried to recruit even if it meant tearing a huge chunk out of its defense budget.
“I truly… envy South Korea.”
In the end, only a tiny number of geniuses supported a great empire.
Overwhelming intelligence was the true weapon of a nation.
Kuroda clicked his tongue bitterly.
Science Facility Factory No. 1.
Inside the dusty, shabby factory office, the leading researchers from South Korea and Japan were arguing heatedly, veins bulging in their necks.
“The die bonding process that installs the HPM chip onto the substrate cannot tolerate even one micron of error! Your robotic arms vibrate far too much!”
(Translator’s Note: Die Bonding — A semiconductor-packaging process in which an individual semiconductor die is attached to a package, substrate, or carrier. It is one of the foundational assembly steps in chip packaging and may use adhesives, solder, eutectic bonding, or other attachment techniques.)
The chief researcher dispatched from LK Hynix snapped angrily, his brow furrowed.
The bearded engineer from Japan’s Fanuc immediately fired back.
“That is physical inertia generated when the robot moves! We need to compromise within a realistic margin of error!”
Somehow, the finest technical minds from South Korea and Japan were tearing their hair out trying to build my automated equipment.
However, progress was painfully slow.
At this rate, they might still be arguing after an entire month.
Tap, tap—
“How about changing the structure here like this?”
I completely redesigned the section that had made no progress.
“What if we attach a floating vision sensor to the tip of the robotic arm and transmit an anti-phase vibration algorithm in nanosecond intervals immediately before assembly?”
Standing right there, I rewrote the entire control code on the keyboard and displayed it on the monitor.
“What do you think? With this level of vibration control, Fanuc’s robots should be able to implement it, right?”
The researchers narrowed their eyes as they examined the revised design and algorithm.
“Ah… You solved it like this…?”
“I-If we use this code, then yes. It is possible. It will definitely work.”
The researchers’ expressions changed completely.
Until moments ago, they had only come because their superiors ordered them to, intending to make a token effort.
Now, they stared as though they had seen a ghost.
Their faces were covered with something beyond shock.
It was awe.
For the next several days and nights, we worked together without sleep.
One by one, advanced automated machines began revealing their imposing forms inside the once-empty old factory.
Several days later.
Before the first class of the morning began.
“The automated equipment setup is almost finished.”
“Really…?”
Taeju looked terrible.
The dark circles beneath his eyes had deepened all the way down toward his jaw, and his complexion was so pale that he looked ready to collapse.
“Are you okay? You look like you are one step away from passing out.”
“My phone is exploding with calls from everywhere demanding drone deliveries. This is not an amount of work one person can handle…”
At this rate, Taeju might die from overwork while still in his teens.
“I think we seriously need to hire more employees… Just our toy division alone is already the size of a decent small or medium-sized enterprise…”
Taeju muttered like someone whose soul had left his body.
He was not wrong.
If we included the defense company revenue, the scale had already become impossible to manage.
Taeju, still only a high school student, was single-handedly blocking and managing this enormous flow of money and business.
I was suffering just as much.
School life, company operations, nonstop development of new products, and special missions from the President.
The amount of work pouring down on me every day was suffocating.
How many employees would we need to escape this cycle?
Fifty?
One hundred?
“All right. Let us expand the workforce.”
At my answer, a little focus returned to Taeju’s cloudy eyes.
“Really? How many? Around fifty?”
“No. I am going to build an AI.”
“What? An AI?”
“If we hire dozens of people, managing those people will become another job.”
Even if the annual salary of one new employee was around thirty-five million won, ten people would cost three hundred fifty million won.
One hundred employees would cost a staggering three and a half billion won.
On top of that, AI could work twenty-four hours a day without rest, meaning its efficiency could easily exceed that of humans by hundreds of times.
“Security issues are also critical because of the nature of our company. Let us start by automating all the complicated office systems with AI.”
To operate a company, enormous administrative manpower was necessary for accounting, bookkeeping, customer service, and many other tasks.
If one high-performance AI could control all of those functions, we could solve both astronomical labor costs and security risks at once.
“Just hold on a little longer. I will build us one insane employee capable of doing the work of a hundred people.”
Kim Sangtae, Chief Researcher at LK Hynix, raised his smartphone to his ear with a trembling hand.
“Vice President, this is Chief Researcher Kim.”
“Yes. How is the government assignment going?”
“Yes… But something unusual happened, and I wanted to report it urgently.”
He glanced around cautiously to make sure no one was listening.
“What is it? What do you mean by unusual?”
“The CEO here… I do not think he is human.”
“What do you mean he is not human? Is he some kind of nightmare client?”
“No, not like that… You would understand immediately if you saw how he works. Simply calling him a genius is not enough.”
“Then what is he?”
“He is exactly the type of monster you are always saying you desperately want to find.”
A brief silence followed from the other end of the line.
The kind of talent the Vice President of LK Hynix had been desperately searching the entire world for.
“…What is his name?”
“Ryu Hyesung. He is a high school student. The Japanese engineers from Fanuc have already noticed something too. That kid is a real monster. He might as well be an alien.”
A heavy silence descended from the other end of the call.
The Vice President took a short breath.
“Bring him here.”
“What? Where?”
“To Core Lab in Research Building No. 1.”
A breathless sound escaped Chief Researcher Kim.
“What?! That is a classified national security area!”
“I will see him myself. I want to find out just how extraordinary this genius really is.”
One of South Korea’s largest semiconductor corporations had taken an interest in a single person.