CH132 | Heir

November 21st.

Taewoo Group officially announced the acquisition of Hyundai Semiconductor today.

After personally shaking hands with the creditors and signing the documents, I headed to Captain Kang’s office.

“Congratulations on acquiring Hyundai Semiconductor.”

“I’m not sure if it’s something to celebrate. I’ve basically taken on a massive time bomb.”

“If used correctly, a bomb can become a nuclear power plant; if misused, it turns into a nuclear bomb. But I have no doubt that you, sir, will handle it exceptionally well.”

Dimon offered an uncharacteristic display of flattery.

If even he was reacting this way, the media must have had a severe response.

“Did the press call me insane?”

“They didn’t use such blunt words, but the reports carry a similar tone.”

That was to be expected.

If acquiring Hyundai Semiconductor had been seen as a positive move, the creditors wouldn’t have let it go for this price.

“This kind of reaction will continue for a while. As time passes, the criticism may get even worse.”

“There are already mentions of a ‘succession risk.’ It seems to be because you personally pushed for this acquisition.”

“I’m guessing Taewoo Group’s stock is in chaos.”

“The stock price is plummeting in real-time. Especially Taewoo Electronics and Taewoo Communications—it's becoming nearly impossible to hold the line.”

Why would we even try to defend it?

This is exactly what I wanted.

“Sell off all the Taewoo Group shares that SAVE Investment holds. That should accelerate the drop even further, don’t you think?”

“That could send shockwaves through the entire Korean stock market. If things go too far, it might even trigger a circuit breaker.”

A circuit breaker—originally a term from electrical engineering—was used in the stock market to halt trading during sudden crashes to prevent excessive volatility.

It had been introduced in Korea after the foreign exchange crisis.

And it had already been triggered once before.

The first time is always the hardest. The second? Much easier.

If SAVE Investment started selling off shares, the circuit breaker was highly likely to be activated.

And once that happened, Wall Street investment firms would follow suit.

After all, Wall Street had been closely monitoring SAVE Investment’s moves.

“This is the perfect timing to initiate the succession process.”

“…Understood. I’ll begin mobilizing SAVE Investment today.”

“Please do. By the way, where is David right now?”

"He went to the sauna for a bit."

Why does an American love saunas so much?

Maybe it’s because he spends every day drowning in alcohol—David sure enjoys sweating it out in the sauna.

***

"Were you looking for me, boss?"

"You’re glowing."

David strolled into the office, sipping on a banana milk.

He must have sweated a lot—his skin wasn’t just fair, it had a rosy tint.

"I sobered up completely. I thought bank presidents would be easy to handle, but their drinking capacity is insane. And I still don’t get why Koreans love soju bombs so much. I never expected bankers to be mixing their drinks like that."

"Soju bombs are practically a traditional Korean drink. That said, this time, you’ll need to drink some Taiwanese liquor."

"If it’s Taiwan, then kaoliang liquor is the famous one. Who am I drinking it with?"

David was one of the highest-paid employees at SAVE Investment.

With bonuses included, he earned billions of won daily—his value was undeniable.

If I was sending someone like him, it meant there was a critical matter in Taiwan.

"We need to recruit some talent."

"If it’s talent scouting, I’m the expert. Just give me a list, and I’ll bring them all to Korea."

"There’s one person in particular—Wei. He graduated from Yale. Make sure you bring him."

Taiwan was home to TSMC.

In my past life, it had become the world's top semiconductor foundry.

But at this point, they hadn’t fully committed to the foundry business yet. If I played my cards right, I could recruit some of their talent.

"A Yale graduate? That’ll make communication easier. Leave it to me."

"I’ll make sure your bonus is generous this time, too. So do me a favor, okay?"

"A favor? If it’s an order from you, boss, of course, I’ll obey."

David downed the rest of his banana milk and sprang into action.

With talent acquisition in his hands, all I had to do was effectively utilize the existing employees at Hyundai Semiconductor.

A week had passed since Hyundai Semiconductor was renamed Taewoo Semiconductor.

During that time, I stayed up every night reviewing the employee roster, analyzing their capabilities.

There were more talented individuals than I expected.

I had assumed a company with a 2 trillion won deficit would be full of underperforming employees, but in terms of talent alone, they were no worse than Taewoo Electronics.

Of course, that didn’t mean there were no problems.

I compiled a list of executives with subpar abilities—my personal blacklist.

On the other hand, I created a promotion list for non-executives who showed promise.

One person stood out in particular—Director Yoo Seok-jae.

He was leading semiconductor technology development and possessed an S-tier level of expertise.

How could I possibly leave someone like that untouched?

I summoned him to the vice chairman’s office, along with Woo Sung-il, president of Taewoo Electronics, and Lee Joo-young, president of Taewoo Communications.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you. I imagine my sudden invitation must have been quite a surprise."

"N-not at all. It’s truly an honor to meet you, Vice Chairman."

Executive Director Yoo Seok-jae looked visibly nervous.

It was only natural. I was seated in the center, flanked by the presidents of Taewoo Electronics and Taewoo Communications—it must have felt like standing before a tribunal.

"There was a time when people said Hyundai Semiconductor’s technology was the best in the world. But recently, I hear it’s fallen behind Samjin Semiconductor and some Japanese firms."

"In terms of accumulated technology alone, we are in no way inferior. In fact, in certain fields, our— I mean, Taewoo Semiconductor—actually leads the competition."

"Even I’m still getting used to calling it Taewoo Semiconductor."

"I apologize. I must be too nervous—I misspoke."

I smiled, trying to ease his tension.

"It’s fine. More importantly, I have just one question. We’re considering a foundry contract for semiconductors used in mobile phones. Would that be possible?"

"Of course, it’s possible. But to be frank, using Taewoo Semiconductor’s technology just for foundry services would be a waste."

"Is that so? Here—take a look. These are the types of semiconductors we’ll need to produce."

I took out a few blueprints and related documents.

I wasn’t an expert in semiconductors, so I couldn’t fully understand the details. But among them was a semiconductor design from Apple.

Of course, it wasn’t the original blueprint.

Key technologies were blacked out, making it even harder to decipher.

Still, Yoo Seok-jae, having worked in the industry for years, immediately recognized the complexity of the design.

"Are you sure this is for a mobile phone?"

"That’s right. Can we manufacture it?"

"It’s possible, but the yield rate will be a major issue. With a design this complex, I doubt the yield would even reach 50%."

"So, you’re saying it’s possible."

Yield rate refers to the percentage of defect-free products in production.

A 50% yield meant that half of the products would be defective.

"It’s possible, but the more we produce, the more losses we’ll incur."

"Wouldn’t the yield improve over time as production stabilizes?"

"Yes, once the workers become more experienced, the yield will increase. But achieving stable production will take a long time."

"We need to manufacture about six million units per year. That should be enough time for the yield to stabilize, don’t you think?"

"Six million units?! At the current yield rate, our existing equipment won’t be able to meet the schedule."

Who would invest in a company losing two trillion won annually?

That’s why Hyundai Semiconductor’s facilities had never been upgraded. They had even resorted to repairing broken machines themselves to keep operations running.

"Buy all the equipment you need. You can also replace the aging machines with the latest models."

"Each unit costs over 140 billion won. To meet the delivery schedule, we’d need at least one trillion won in investment."

"One trillion? That won’t be enough. We’re planning to invest over ten trillion won this year."

"T-ten trillion won?!"

Executive Director Yoo Seok-jae was at a loss for words.

At Hyundai Semiconductor, they had to tighten their belts just to reduce deficits.

But now, standing before a company willing to invest ten trillion won in a single year, how could he not be shocked?

"Of course, that ten trillion includes the cost of constructing new factories, so the actual investment will be somewhere between three to five trillion."

"Isn't that a bit excessive?"

"Executive Director Yoo, don’t worry about anything else. Just focus on meeting the production schedule. If the yield rate is only 50%, then we’ll simply double the input materials. I promise you, no one will blame you for a high defect rate."

As long as the input was there, the output would follow.

Of course, the semiconductor industry required long-term investment, but if we dramatically increased the input, we could shorten the timeline.

"It’s definitely possible, but we’re a bit short on manpower. Given the nature of this industry, it takes a long time to train skilled professionals."

"You don’t need to worry about that. We’ve already dispatched recruiters worldwide to scout top talent."

"I never expected this level of support. Since you’re giving us the resources, we’ll make sure to deliver results."

A determined look spread across Yoo Seok-jae’s face.

When he first walked into the vice chairman’s office, he had looked like a nervous rookie.

Now, he exuded the confidence of a battle-hardened veteran.

Saving Taewoo Semiconductor required spending big.

Taewoo Group had more than enough capital to do so, but that didn’t mean we should waste money carelessly.

To cut unnecessary expenses, I sought out my grandfather.

I even personally drove to see him, acting as sweet as possible.

"Taewoo Group finally has a proper semiconductor company now. You must be pleased, right?"

"Pleased? What’s there to be pleased about? We just acquired a money-losing company—this is only going to give me more gray hairs."

"That’s exactly why I wanted to talk. Wouldn’t government support help reduce the losses, even just a little?"

"The government already helped by negotiating a 65% debt reduction with the creditors, didn’t they?"

Everyone knew that semiconductors were the backbone of the industrial sector.

That’s why the government had put in considerable effort to save Hyundai Semiconductor.

But from my perspective, their efforts weren’t enough.

"What if we ask for tax relief? At least until we turn a profit. That would significantly ease the burden."

"The government might want to help, but what about fairness? If we get special treatment, do you think Samjin Electronics will stay quiet?"

"Then let Samjin Electronics get tax benefits too. Their losses are barely a trillion won, so the lion’s share of the benefits will come to us."

My grandfather ran the numbers in his head.

Then, with a knowing smile, he downed his tea in one swift motion.

"Looks like I need to visit the Blue House. If I threaten to abandon the Hyundai Semiconductor acquisition, the government might agree to some tax breaks."

As expected, my grandfather was perfect for this kind of negotiation.

When it came to dealing with the government, there was no one more reliable than him.

To show my appreciation, I enthusiastically massaged his shoulders.