The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 146



Only Krnovel

Episode 146 Cartel (5)

Samjin Electronics achieved first place in market capitalization in the 2000s.

The group’s business ranking was still second behind Taewo Group, but if viewed as a single company, Samjin Electronics was the number one company in Korea.

Because Samjin Electronics was on par with most large conglomerates.

There were two vice presidents, five presidents, and more than 10 vice presidents as executives, and these people, who had enormous power, were arguing in the conference room.

“Are you saying that we should destroy the semiconductor division in order to save the mobile phone division? Apple is said to be importing 3 million semiconductors this time. But what if we keep our customers in check?”

“When do you say we keep our customers in check? WIPI regulation is a matter decided by the Korea Broadcasting Commission. “This has nothing to do with Samjin Electronics.”

“Who would believe that? I don’t believe it either, but will Apple believe it? “Rumors that they are joining forces with telecommunications companies to block the iPhone’s release in Korea are spreading not only in Korea but also in the United States.”

Executives from the semiconductor and mobile divisions raised their voices.

If things continued like this, the atmosphere was likely to lead to a fist fight, so Vice Chairman Jeong Hyeon-woo stepped in to mediate.

“Calm down. “Let’s find a way for the mobile division and semiconductor division to achieve WIN-WIN.”

“There is no way for two business units to profit at the same time in a situation where the U.S. has brought out Super 301 trillion.”

“It was not the first time in the United States that people took out the Super 301 trillion card and made threats. However, Super Article 301 has never been actually activated. “It’s just a means to put pressure on us.”

Vice Chairman Chung Hyun-woo pressed his temples.

Even though the situation was complicated, it was too complicated.

Since the mobile and semiconductor divisions were competing for first and second place in sales at Samsung Electronics, it was impossible to take one side.

When the vice president stopped mediation, a fight broke out again.

The mobile division made strong statements.

“Honestly, what kind of money is the semiconductor division making? The semiconductor division suffered a deficit of over 200 billion won this quarter alone. Aren’t they making up for the deficit by selling mobile phones?”

“So are you saying we should kill the semiconductor division altogether? In order to turn a profit, we need to secure more customers! But what if the mobile division kicks out a customer?”

The situation was getting worse.

The voices of the presidents of each business division grew louder.

At that moment, squeak! The door to the conference room opened and someone came in.

“This is not a market place, so why are you raising your voice so much!”

“Shoes, Chairman! sorry.”

It was the appearance of Chairman Oh Hee-gun.

While Hyunjae Group had Chairman Jang Young-joo, Samjin Group had Chairman Oh Hee-geon.

It was Chairman Oh Hee-gun who became the head of Samjin Group after overcoming the Prince’s Rebellion, and he was the person who raised Samjin Group to second place in the business world based on his excellent management skills.

“What if the U.S. makes things so complicated that they even bring up Super 301? And I heard he said he was going to cancel his contract with Apple.”

“I was told that I cannot do business with a company that keeps its customers in check.

“Let President Lee tell me. Are Samjin Electronics’ mobile phones so uncompetitive that the launch of the iPhone in Korea must be blocked?”

“That is absolutely not the case. Samjin Electronics’ mobile phones are the best in the world.”

“Then why are you blocking the launch of the iPhone in Korea? Is this to avoid losing Korea’s market share?”

“It takes time to understand the iPhone because it looks completely different from existing phones. “It’s to buy that time.”

Lying in front of Chairman Oh Hee-gun was useless.

It was Lee, the president of the mobile division, who clearly showed his true intentions.

“I understand what you mean. But what’s the use if we can’t sell our phones to the U.S. because we’re trying to block the iPhone’s launch in Korea?”

“If you said this with Super Section 301 in mind, you don’t have to worry. “We have sent lobbyists to the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.”

“Tsk tsk, what kind of politician would participate in something that goes against the interests of his country? “Why don’t you know that lobbying is impossible even if you give hundreds of millions of dollars to lobbyists?”

Chairman Oh Hee-gun was already aware of the situation in the United States.

He looked into news about American politics through his own line, and realized that lobbying would not work.

“Although it is against our country’s interests, I believe that America’s problems can be resolved through lobbying.”

“Are telecom cartels that rich? “Are you confident that you can lobby more than Wall Street?”

“When you say Wall Street, do you mean American investment companies?”

“You don’t even know who owns Apple? Most of the shares are held by Wall Street investment companies. And Wall Street is also the place that spends the most money on American politics. Are you confident that you will fight them and win?”

“… … .”

Chairman Oh Hee-gun clicked his tongue.

It was Lee, the president of the mobile division, who bowed his head at that sound.

“If you are confident that you can win, I will support you. However, keep in mind that the moment you lose, Samjin Electronics may go bankrupt. “This means that not only Samjin Electronics but also the Republic of Korea could fall!”

“sorry. “I was short-thinking.”

“Tsk, tsk, they are trying to target the American political world like they did in Korea, so this is what happened.”

Chairman Oh Hee-gun coolly turned his head.

I asked a question to the semiconductor division executive who was quietly waiting.

“Can we solve the deficit problem if we sign a new contract with iPhone?”

“It cannot be completely eliminated, but the deficit can be reduced.”

“But can Apple make the iPhone without using Samjin Electronics’ semiconductors? “If our semiconductors are essential components, the positions of A and B will be reversed.”

“We can make the iPhone using Taewoo Semiconductor and Japanese semiconductors. Of course, there are performance and cost issues, but these are not problems that prevent us from making the product itself.”

Samjin Electronics is leading the semiconductor market.

However, the gap with other semiconductor companies was not that large.

“I guess there’s nothing more to think about. “Please withdraw the WIPI regulation.”

“But Mr. Chairman, we have already made promises to several companies. “Telecom companies in particular will strongly oppose this.”

“We may have to close down the mobile phone business, but are we just arguing about problems with domestic telecommunications companies?”

In some ways, telecommunication companies and mobile phone companies were close to a vertical relationship.

Since mobile phones could only be sold through telecommunication companies, telecommunication companies could be seen as the best.

However, Samjin Electronics could not simply be viewed as Eul.

Should I call it Super Eul?

Telecommunications companies also could not ignore Samjin Electronics, as they would suffer huge losses if the company’s mobile phones were not supplied on time.

“Let’s solve the problem before people start saying that Super 301 will ruin the country.”

“All right. We will take action as soon as possible.”

***

two days later.

The planning director came with very good news.

“The Korea Broadcasting Commission announced that it will postpone the mandatory WIPI loading regulation.”

“But to protect your pride, you announced a postponement rather than abolition.”

“It may sound like an act, but in reality, you can think of it as being close to abolition.”

“So, is it possible to release the iPhone starting today?”

“That’s right. “As long as we get the Vice President’s instructions, we can sell iPhones in electronics stores right now.”

“Then start selling right now.”

When a new product was released, it was usually released after extensive advertising.

Of course, we filmed several versions of iPhone-related commercials, but we were unable to play them due to WIPI issues.

That problem has now been resolved.

Although it was right to sell the iPhone after a few days of extensive advertising.

Thanks to noise marketing done by news and newspapers, the need for that has disappeared.

“We will start selling iPhones as soon as the electronics store opens!”

The planning director was busy.

We resumed iPhone advertising that had been postponed and contacted stores nationwide to announce the start of iPhone sales.

It was almost lunch time when the planning manager, who was so busy, came to see me.

“Vice Chairman! Something big happened.”

“What else is the problem? Could it be that the telecommunications cartel is sabotaging them again?”

“That’s not true, they say the initial supply has already run out.”

“Does that make sense? “The initial supply was 100,000 units, but it would be impossible based on common sense to sell them all in half a day.”

“Only 20,000 units were actually sold, but over 30,000 customers made reservations. Even if only half of this flow continues, the initial supply will run out within this week.”

I expected it to some extent.

But the response was much hotter than I expected.

This was also thanks to the telecommunications cartel.

With the launch of the iPhone, it was heavily promoted in the news, including a super 301 trillion won stake.

Because we worked hard to promote the product, focusing on stores and university campuses across the country, customers flocked to the product from the start of sales.

“Contact Apple headquarters and request supply. “Tell us that we will receive the supplies directly from the Chinese factory.”

“I’ve already contacted you. However, they say they cannot provide a large quantity because there is a shortage in the U.S. as well.”

“We are planning to launch it in the European market soon, but there is already a shortage of supplies.”

“It is said that Apple headquarters is also in emergency mode due to a shortage of supplies.”

There was no problem with parts supply at all.

The only problem was that the factory in charge of assembly was small and production was falling.

“Hmm, we can’t just wait blindly. Hmm, can Taewoo Electronics produce iPhones?”

“Production is possible using small product assembly plants. And we can produce it by mobilizing our people at the Taewo mobile phone division factory acquired by Apple.”

“Then do it. “We must take responsibility for the Korean supply and ensure that there is no shortage.”

“We can solve the quantity problem by using the Taewoo Electronics factory, but the unit price is not right.”

The reason an assembly plant was built in China was because of labor costs.

It was natural for the unit price to soar when produced in a Korean factory.

However, it was not possible to further increase the unit price of the iPhone, which was already being sold at a high price.

“Even if we lose a little bit, we have to meet the production volume. Only then can Taewoo Telecom’s market share increase further.”

“We will begin discussions with Taewoo Electronics right away.”

Taewoong Communications was exclusively selling the iPhone.

So, it meant that Taewoong Communications’ customers would increase as iPhones were sold.

The possibility that customers of other telecommunications companies will move to Taewoo Telecommunications has also increased.

So it was never a loss-making business.

As the unit price rose, even if we shared the burden, we could see greater profits elsewhere, so we had to secure the quantity somehow.