The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 133



Only Krnovel

Episode 133 Big crash (2)

I continued massaging my grandfather’s shoulders.

Then, my grandfather suddenly brought up another topic.

“But now I guess we have to proceed with the inheritance slowly. “After the acquisition of Current Semiconductor, the entire group’s stock price fell significantly.”

Grandfather’s shoulders suddenly tensed.

Although it was advantageous for inheritance when stock prices fell, it had a negative effect on everything else.

“As soon as the inheritance process is completed, we will proceed with the purchase and cancellation of shares. Then the stock price is bound to rebound again.”

“They say a lot of foreign investors have also pulled out, but I don’t know if it’s possible.”

I couldn’t bear to say that the foreign investor was me.

The best thing to do was to simply reassure my grandfather in a confident tone.

“We will try to overcome the rebound and break the price limit within a year.”

“Hehe, you are like my grandson. Opportunities are born in crises. “If you become complacent with reality just because it’s difficult, you’re bound to fall.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. So, we planned to invest the in-house reserves of Taewoo Electronics and Taewoo Communications into Taewoo Semiconductor. “First, we plan to urgently invest about 3 trillion won and invest more in the future to normalize Taewo Semiconductor.”

Suddenly, my grandfather pushed my hand away.

Then he turned his head towards me and looked straight into my eyes.

“Are you confident?”

“It’s not a matter of whether you have confidence or not; it’s something you must do unconditionally.”

“If we fail, we could end up like the current group.”

“I am confident that I will survive even if the same thing happens to me.”

“Where did this guy come from? haha.”

I knew very well how much my grandfather cared about Taewoo Semiconductor.

I had to be busier to prevent the things I was worried about from happening.

***

There are only a few days left in the year 2000.

Last month, Apple began producing the semiconductors it wanted.

A month later, Managing Director Yoo Seok-jae came to the Vice President’s office with a yield report.

“Your face is very damaged. She was so half-baked. “I guess I should go to Yonghan Oriental Medicine Clinic and make some herbal medicine for you.”

“sorry. “The yield is lower than I expected.”

“Why are you apologizing? It doesn’t matter how many defective products there are. “It’s okay if the yield is 10%, so keep your head up.”

Managing Director Yoo Seok-jae’s eyes were moist.

But I soon came to my senses and continued reporting.

“At the beginning of semiconductor production, the yield was about 50%, but now it has been raised to 55%. “It is expected to rise slightly as workers become accustomed to the new equipment.”

“The yield is coming out better than I expected. “You just need to continue like you are now.”

“And I have one more thing to report to you.”

Managing Director Yoo Seok-jae’s voice exuded confidence.

I guess he brought some good news.

“Have you succeeded in developing a new product?”

“That’s right. We have succeeded in developing 128M DDR SDRAM for graphics. “We can confidently say that it operates at the highest speed than any other semiconductor company’s products.”

Clearly, current semiconductor technology is by no means lacking.

It was just that we couldn’t properly conduct R&D due to lack of money.

As Taewoo Group invested a huge amount of money, results began to emerge quickly.

“Thank you for your hard work. “The technology research center has also been instructed to work with Taewo Semiconductor to develop technology in the future, so this will be helpful.”

“With the help of the Technology Research Institute and Taewoo Electronics, we can quickly develop 256 DDR SDRAM.”

“As you know, please focus a little more on developing DRAM for mobile devices.”

“We have already begun improvement work, and we think we will be able to announce good results within the first half of next year.”

It was Yoo Seok-jae, who possessed S-class technology development capabilities.

Even though we had such talented people, the current semiconductor industry collapsed.

The explosive power of the dot-com bubble was nothing short of incredible.

“Aren’t you very busy with technology development and field management?”

“To be honest, even two bodies are not enough. However, I am prepared to sacrifice myself if I can just normalize Taewoo Semiconductor.”

Would it be useful if a talented person like Yoo Seok-jae were replaced?

He was someone who should protect Taewoo Semiconductor as much as possible and work for Taewo Semiconductor for a long time.

So he needed someone to manage the site on his behalf, and he arrived just in time.

“Please bring the guests inside.”

I contacted the secretary’s office using the vice president’s exclusive phone.

Soon after, a person with a warm appearance entered the vice president’s office.

He greeted me in fluent English, and I also greeted him in English.

“nice to see you. “It’s called Wei.”

“Thank you so much for coming all the way!”

Wei, the driving force behind TSMC’s success, appeared at Taewo Group.

It was as if I had stolen the person who would become the CEO of TSMC in the future.

That didn’t cause any problems. TSMC had not yet entered the foundry business.

“Please say hello to each other. “Manager Yoo, you can communicate in English, right?”

“Currently, thanks to my work at Semiconductor’s U.S. branch, communication is fully possible.”

Managing Director Yoo Seok-jae and Wei exchanged greetings and shook hands.

Managing Director Yoo Seok-jae, who turned Hyunjae Semiconductor into a leading semiconductor company.

It was a historic moment when Wei, who made Taiwan’s TSMC No. 1 in the foundry industry, joined hands.

“The two of you will lead Taewo Semiconductor in the future. “Please know that I will be appointed as co-vice president within this month.”

“Are you saying I will be appointed vice president? “There are many executives who are older than me.”

“What does the difference of years matter? Skills are important. If they start a political fight within the company, report it right away. “We will hand over responsibility for the 2 trillion won deficit to them.”

Pay attention to ability first.

Although it was a management method with many problems, it was the only way to save the failing Taewo Semiconductor.

If you have the ability, you can be promoted to vice president even if your rank is low, and conversely, even if you are a founding member, if you do not have the ability, you have to boldly fire them.

“ah! And, along with Vice President Wei, about 100 technicians will start working tomorrow. “Everyone has experience working in the U.S. or Taiwan, which will help with the manpower shortage.”

“thank you. “We will definitely produce good results.”

It was Vice President Yoo Seok-jae who was bowing down.

Unlike him, Vice President Wei, who joined this time, was full of leisure.

“I came to Korea because I was told I could run Taewoo Semiconductor the way I wanted. “I would like to hear confirmation again.”

“I delegate full authority. Of course, you will need to discuss this with Vice President Yoo Seok-jae.”

“Conversations with engineers are always fun. “I also come from an engineer background.”

He was Vice President Wei, who studied semiconductors in the United States.

He was a man with outstanding semiconductor technology development skills as well as management skills.

So, didn’t they bring him to Korea at a huge cost to recruit him?

***

The new year of 2001 has arrived.

Although the sun rose brighter than any other year, Taewo Group’s situation was not very good.

That’s why the grandfather’s expression was very dark when he heard the Bosingak bell ringing.

“Despite the stock repurchase in progress, Taewoo Group’s stock price is still falling.”

“We expect it to remain constant or slightly decline until the first half of the year.”

“Do you think there will be a rebound from the second half of the year? How can a rebound be possible when semiconductor yields are not even 60%? “If the media bites this question, won’t the stock price fall even further?”

Semiconductor yield was the company’s top secret information.

However, in today’s era, there was no choice but to disclose the yield.

That’s because it was possible to handle the costs.

In particular, my grandfather received tax cuts from the government.

Therefore, semiconductor yields had to be disclosed more transparently.

“Apple’s new product will be released soon. And wouldn’t it be good news since Taewoo Semiconductor will exclusively supply some of the semiconductors that go into it?”

“The more semiconductors we produce, the more we lose money. How can that be good news?”

“As you gain experience, you will eventually be able to solve the yield problem. “The yield has already increased by nearly 5% in just one month.”

Vice President Yoo Seok-jae and Vice President Wei were a good match.

They were innovating Taewo Semiconductor by going back and forth between the field and the office.

I personally selected the newly hired employees, and they were all talented individuals with Grade A or higher abilities.

Taewoo Semiconductor was a company made up of only elites.

So, it was clear that it would turn into a surplus faster than in history.

“Hmm, but it seems like you have high hopes for Apple’s new phone. Yes, it is a cell phone after all. “Isn’t the mobile phone market already saturated?”

“It’s not a cell phone, it’s a smartphone. “It is clear that this is a masterpiece that will turn not only the mobile phone industry, but also the IT industry.”

“Hmm, since you say that, I’m interested too. Let’s go to CES together this year. “It’s been a while since I went to America.”

“Isn’t it really a long time since you went on a trip with your grandfather?”

I loved it as if I were a kid going on a picnic.

Because I have no memories of going on a trip with my grandfather, neither in my past life nor in my current life.

But my grandfather poured cold water on my excited heart.

“We will take separate planes. “If there were a plane accident, wouldn’t one of the two survive?”

“You’re not going to stay in a separate hotel, are you?”

“Of course we should do that, right? “Still, let’s go to the CES event hall together.”

It was something that could not be helped.

If the company’s chairman and vice president suffer an accident at the same time, the Taewoo Group will fall into a state of paralysis.

The same was true for other companies.

As far as I know, there were two people who knew the Coca-Cola recipe, and they were known to never fly on the same plane.

If you happen to have an accident, the recipe will disappear.

“Since we are going to the United States together, how about attending the U.S. President’s inauguration ceremony together?”

“You said the White House would invite you?”

“If grandpa says he’s going to attend, wouldn’t you make arrangements for him without one?”

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ll be away for two weeks though. “I will only attend the CES event and return to Korea, so you must attend the presidential inauguration ceremony.”

I wanted to introduce President Bush to my grandfather.

However, since I couldn’t force an unreasonable schedule, I decided to follow my grandfather’s wishes.

“I think it would be a good memory to attend together, but it’s a shame.”

“There’s nothing you can do about it. “You’ve caused so much trouble that someone has to take care of it, right?”

Even if there were ten mouths, there was nothing to say.

Taewoo Group has become more than twice as large as before the foreign exchange crisis, and my grandfather’s workload has skyrocketed.

“I feel really reassured because I have my grandfather. “If it were me alone, it would have spread a long time ago.”

“Now that the inheritance work is almost finished, shouldn’t you take over what I was doing?”

“no. “I will take over slowly.”

I was afraid that my grandfather might announce his retirement, so I quickly waved my hand.

The moment my grandfather retires, I end up in a pile of documents.

So, I had to hope that my grandfather would remain at the head of the group for as long as possible.