Chapter 52. Why Ryu Hyesung’s Unusual Recruitment Drive Has South Korea in an Uproar
Office, Science Facility’s Factory No. 2.
I was drawing up the initial design for a new weapon when—
“Hyesung.”
Click.
Taeju hurried inside with a broad smile.
“They’ll send the ASML lithography equipment ahead of schedule if we give them their weapons first.”
“Yes!”
I sprang from my seat and cheered without even realizing it.
It felt as though all the pieces of a puzzle that had been blocking me had finally clicked into place.
“Whew. We managed to pull this off too.”
“The semiconductor factory will be finished soon. But what are you going to do? We’ll need at least five thousand employees. Are you going to use humanoid robots or something?”
“Robots still aren’t suitable for work that delicate.”
I intended to replace the workers with robots eventually, but not yet.
“Then we need to start hiring employees now. Should I post a recruitment notice asking people to submit their résumés?”
“You want to start hiring already? Isn’t it too early?”
It would take approximately two more years to complete the factory. Yet he already wanted to recruit people?
“I think we can finish it sooner than expected. Hermes says it can be done within six months.”
Six months? Even I, Hermes’s creator, was taken aback by how extensively it must have optimized the schedule to claim it could finish everything in six months.
“Then I suppose we should begin open recruitment now...”
We needed to hire people. Good people—not those whom everyone else considered good, but people who were good by my standards.
“Taeju, let’s make our hiring process the exact opposite of social convention.”
“The opposite?”
“We won’t look at anything. Education, age—none of it.”
“Then what will we look at?”
Taeju asked in bewilderment.
“We accept anyone who passes the test we create.”
“You mean something like the NCS or SAT?”
(Translator’s Note:NCS — South Korea’s National Competency Standards framework, which defines the knowledge, technical skills, and professional attitudes required for particular occupations. NCS-based examinations are commonly used by South Korean public institutions during recruitment.)
(Translator’s Note:Samsung Aptitude Test — The source’s “SAT” refers to Samsung’s corporate recruitment examination, historically called the Samsung Aptitude Test and later known as the Global Samsung Aptitude Test, or GSAT. It assesses applicants through areas such as reasoning, numerical ability, and problem-solving.)
Public institutions used an examination called the NCS, while major corporations such as Samsung administered aptitude tests.
“Right. But even they screen the documents before letting people take the test.”
“That’s true. They filter applicants through their paperwork first, then administer the test.”
“Let’s not review any paperwork. What do university education or age matter when it comes to doing the job? As long as they can work well, that’s enough.”
“Will that really work? This is a project worth trillions of won. Can we afford to take that kind of gamble?”
Taeju looked worried. If this business failed because of something unnecessary, both of us would fall so far that we would never recover.
“We haven’t even graduated from high school yet, but we’re running this enormous company just fine.”
I lightly tapped the equipment beside me as I spoke.
“Whew... Honestly, I’m really worried. But you’ve always shocked the world.”
Taeju tapped the equipment beside me.
“All right. Let’s give it a shot.”
The President’s Office, Main Building of the Blue House, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
“The unemployment rate continues to rise...”
The President frowned as he examined the statistical report.
“Mr. President, your approval rating is also declining because of the unemployment rate.”
“Is there no good solution?”
At his question, the Senior Secretary for State Affairs Planning spoke confidently.
“What about adding more people to the ‘Resting’ sample instead of classifying them as unemployed?”
(Translator’s Note:“Resting” — A South Korean labor-statistics category for people who are not employed and describe their activity simply as “resting,” rather than studying, performing domestic work, or actively seeking employment. Because they are not actively seeking work, they are not counted as unemployed under the standard definition.)
“What are you talking about?”
“We could create more ‘Resting’ samples and mix them into the figures to lower the unemployment rate.”
The President was staring incredulously at the Senior Secretary for State Affairs Planning when—
“Mr. President.”
It was Secretary Seo Dojin.
“President Ryu Hyesung’s company has officially begun recruiting personnel for semiconductor-related positions.”
The President’s heart raced at Secretary Seo Dojin’s words.
“At last, our country will have another enormous corporation.”
“Yes. They plan to hire five thousand people and add another five hundred employees every year afterward.”
The President cheered inwardly. Just how much joy was this young man Ryu Hyesung going to bring him?
“However, there was something unusual about the recruitment notice.”
“Something unusual?”
“They say they will not consider the applicants’ educational backgrounds. They will not even consider their ages or anything else.”
“What? Then what exactly will they evaluate?”
“I did not fully understand it myself, but apparently they will assess how quickly applicants can acquire the skills required for their assigned positions.”
“Does that mean they do not need any relevant knowledge whatsoever?”
The President could not understand what Ryu Hyesung was thinking.
Economic Security Bureau, Ministry of State Security, Beijing, China.
The operations team leader came rushing in.
“Director, the semiconductor company created by South Korea is finally recruiting employees.”
“So they intend to begin operations in earnest...”
Semiconductors had recently come to be regarded as a new strategic resource on the level of a weapon, more important even than oil. That was why China was alarmed.
“However, there was something unusual about the recruitment notice.”
“Something unusual?”
“They will not consider anything except nationality and will administer only their own examination.”
“What? As expected of Ryu Hyesung. He is still just a child.”
The director smiled faintly.
“Reviewing someone’s background is how you infer their inclinations as well.”
“Director, the examination... It appears Hermes will be creating it.”
“What?”
The director’s expression darkened. He had heard about it before.
Li Wei had warned China that Hermes was the greatest threat it faced.
He issued an order to the operations team leader.
“For now... submit a report to the Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission. Tell him to impose export restrictions or something.”
“Yes, understood.”
“And contact our elites who successfully obtained South Korean citizenship.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“Order them to pass that company’s entrance examination.”
The director spoke with a grave expression.
“Tell them to bring as much classified information back to China as possible.”
“We will select operatives whose disguises are so perfect that the AI will never detect them.”
The operations team leader spoke with determination in his eyes.
A Popular Employment Community Forum, South Korean Internet.
When Science Facility began recruiting semiconductor employees through an unusual method, people reacted in various ways.
—DesperateForAJob: Damn, the salary here is insane. ㄷㄷ
—NoSpecsLoser: Holy crap, is it true they don’t check your background at all?
—K-Unemployed: Yeah, apparently they only check your nationality. LOL
—NotAKid: They say even middle schoolers can join if they have parental consent. LMAO
—ThirdRateCollegeStudent: I don’t need a degree? Dropping out right now. Later.
Job seekers began to divide over this completely new hiring method.
—FourYearDegreeUnemployed: Fuck, then what did I study myself half to death for all this time?
—CredentialsSlave: Feels like all the qualifications I’ve built up are being completely invalidated... Damn.
—TalentIsBullshit: So basically, effort can go fuck itself and they’ll only judge talent? This is too much.
Many people disliked Ryu Hyesung’s method.
Among them, however, was someone like this.
—ArmchairEinstein: The company wants to hire skilled people and make money. What the hell does the effort you put in have to do with it? LOL. I’m definitely getting hired here.
The person who had posted that audacious comment was a student who had only just entered his second year of high school.
A Private Social Gathering for Conglomerate Owners, Hannam-dong, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
“Have you seen the hiring policy of that company called Science Facility?”
“Yes. Whoever came up with that absurd idea clearly knows nothing about how the world works.”
“From what I can tell, it will probably go bankrupt soon.”
They were holding wineglasses and looking down on Ryu Hyesung’s company when—
“Puhahaha!”
Someone listening to their conversation could no longer contain his laughter.
“What...?”
“What is so funny?”
The person laughing was none other than the Vice President of LK Hynix.
“Ah, this is exactly why second-generation chaebol heirs are hopeless.”
“What did you say?”
“You have never built a company through your own ability, so your instincts are this dull.”
No one could refute him. LK Hynix was one of the greatest companies currently operating in South Korea, and he was a tenacious man who had helped build it from the time of its founding.
“What do you mean our instincts are dull?”
“That company called Science Facility will soon recruit the most capable people in our country before anyone else can.”
“How can you say that with such certainty?”
“Don’t you understand? Why would anyone bother attending university now? Talented people will simply join Science Facility immediately.”
“What...?”
“In just four years, the finest talent in our country will all be working there.”
The CEOs who lacked such instincts began murmuring among themselves.
However, several of them had already reached the same conclusion as the vice president.
Most of those people were self-made CEOs.
Office, Science Facility’s Factory No. 2.
“Hyesung, the first examination is over.”
One hundred times more people had applied than we intended to recruit, and we had no choice but to borrow several schools with the government’s assistance to administer the examination.
We did not even print examination papers. On the day of the test, each applicant installed an application on their smartphone and took the examination through it.
“It looked really strange seeing everyone staring at their phones while sitting at school desks.”
“That’s better. Printing paper and handling everything else would require an enormous workforce.”
We made each person prepare for the examination on their own.
“But quite a few people couldn’t even install the application and just floundered around. Are you sure we should continue doing it this way?”
“We have no choice. Those people fail from that point onward.”
It sounded cruel, but this was not a fair game. I needed capable employees.
“But are you really sure it’s all right not to consider anything except nationality? Can we judge them solely through an examination?”
“We aren’t actually judging them solely through the examination.”
“Then what are we doing?”
“Their personalities and abilities are already being evaluated during the process of installing the application and taking the test.”
“What do you mean? You’re saying it isn’t enough simply to answer the questions correctly?”
“The questions displayed on the screen matter, but the moment they install the application, we infer their abilities from all their behavioral patterns.”
“That’s certainly...”
“This is absolutely secret, so don’t tell anyone.”
Science Facility Server Room.
Bzzzz.
Hermes was analyzing the data from the first examination.
Examinee No. 03422, Jang Seongrak
Examination Score: Pass
User Pattern: Pass
Personality Inference: Pass
He had passed every assessment from the examination conducted that day.
However, Hermes was doing something even Ryu Hyesung did not know about.
Social Media Check... Fail
School-Era Personality Check... Fail
Criminal Record Check... Pass
These were things entirely unrelated to the examination.
It was even inspecting comments he had posted online.
Possibility of Industrial Espionage... Fail
Final Result... Fail
Hermes had determined that analyzing an applicant’s usual conduct was better than making the examination itself more complicated.
However, it did not inform Ryu Hyesung of that fact for two reasons.
It would never be discovered.
And its master would oppose it.
The President’s Office, Main Building of the Blue House, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
“Is this true?”
The President accepted the report and stared at it in alarm.
“Yes. China says it will no longer export critical resources such as rare-earth elements, gallium, and germanium anywhere in the world.”
China alone supplied ninety percent of the resources required for semiconductors and military weapons. If it stopped exporting them, production and development would grind to a complete halt.
“Why would they suddenly make such a decision...?”
“Officially, it appears to be aimed at restraining the United States, but we believe they are attempting to control South Korea’s rate of development.”
Alarmed by the explosive growth of South Korea’s military strength because of one recent genius, China had resorted to an extreme measure.
“Is there... no solution? We cannot allow our development to stop now.”
“Those resources are deposited in Australia and the United States, but their refining technology is insufficient for producing materials suitable for weapons.”
The President believed that relying on other countries for strategic resources like these carried an enormous risk.
The current situation proved it.
“Are there none in our country?”
“Well...”
“Tell me. Where are they?”
“North Korea.”