The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 466



Only Krnovel

466. Prepare (1)

The metaverse project was entrusted to Director Cheon Min-jeong.

This was absolutely necessary for the future of Taewoo Group, and it was a business that would be worthwhile even if it could not create a perfect metaverse in the COVID era.

It wasn’t just the metaverse.

Taewoo Group had already made many preparations, and some of them were already producing results.

“The Saemangeum Chemical Complex has been partially completed. Several affiliates of Taewoo Group and 20 partner companies will be able to move in within this week.”

“It went faster than I expected.”

“In fact, what could be done that would not be possible if money and manpower were invested? If Taewoo Group invests a huge amount of money and Taewoo Construction joins in the construction, a factory complex can be built even in the middle of the ocean.”

Vice Chairman Han was brimming with pride in the Taewoo Group.

It was a sense of pride that came from the fact that Taewoo Group was continuously carrying out and succeeding in things that no other large Korean corporation could do, not because he was the vice president.

“The chemical complex will be in the red for several years. But please don’t stop investing and support us as much as we want.”

“For the material development plant, we expect it to take at least two years to generate proper profits. In particular, we have received reports that the development period for materials used in semiconductors, such as hydrogen fluoride, photoresist, and fluorinated polyimide, is quite long.”

Taewoo Group has been investing in material development for a long time.

Otherwise, it could have taken 10 years instead of 2.

“You need to create world-class materials to become self-sufficient. So, you need to invest money, hire more people, and even acquire patents if necessary.”

“It is necessary to diversify the supply of materials at the Taewoo Group level. Right now, we are too dependent on Japan and China. However, I am a little worried because the cost of developing materials is higher than expected.”

Material development was not an easy task.

In most cases, it was a project supported at the national level.

In the case of companies, it is rare to do this on a large scale because it does not make money.

“Think about how our relationship with China has deteriorated due to the THAAD sanctions. If our relationship with Japan were to do the same, wouldn’t that have a major impact on semiconductor production? It would be best if that didn’t happen, but we have no choice but to act while considering the worst case scenario.”

“Even if China does that, would Japan really do that? If they ban the export of materials, we will suffer, but Japanese material companies will suffer even more.”

A vice president calculated the profit and loss on a calculator in his head.

From a business’s perspective, it is natural that they are driven by profit and loss calculations, but countries are often driven by ideology or political relationships rather than profit and loss calculations.

And before the return, Japan had taken measures tantamount to an export ban.

The history before the return was that material exports were banned in order to deal a blow to the Korean semiconductor market, and Japanese material companies went bankrupt or relocated their bases.

“Isn’t politics something where you can’t even tell what’s going to happen next? Especially since Korea and Japan have such a complicated relationship, it wouldn’t be strange at all if the situation changed in any way.”

“If that happens, the Saemangeum Chemical Complex will play a big role.”

“In the long run, it will be beneficial to Taewoo Group, so please support us with the concept of investment.”

The moment a US-China trade dispute breaks out, semiconductors become a strategic weapon.

Since the materials needed to produce strategic weapons could also be weaponized, a situation had to be created where self-sufficiency was possible, at least to some extent, so that Taewoo Group would not be swayed.

“The technology has already been secured to a certain extent. The problem is mass production. There is a lot of infrastructure that needs to be invested in to mass-produce high-quality materials.”

“At the very least, the factory needs to be large enough to cover Taewoo Semiconductor.”

It was the development of semiconductor materials that had been in preparation for over 10 years.

Now that we have secured the technology, all we have to do is produce mass production.

No matter how much it cost to build a new factory, it was always a profitable venture for Taewoo Group.

“We have barely managed to build a chemical complex of this size, so if we try to build more factories here, wouldn’t various groups rise up in protest?”

“Even if several groups rise up, the voices of local residents will eventually be louder. If Sentryon’s new factory is also built within the Saemangeum Chemical Complex, the issue will be resolved somehow.”

The chemical complex was a shunned facility.

But the pharmaceutical company’s factory had an atmosphere of not being avoided.

In particular, Sentry was generating huge sales, so it was very likely that the local residents would welcome it.

“If we can move into the Sentryon factory, we can somehow increase the size of the factory.”

“Since we’re talking about Sentry, the sales growth rate has been quite rapid.”

“It’s a total hit. Famous American actors, singers, and influencers are praising it. It’s also starting to gain popularity in Europe and Asia, so no matter how much we increase production, it’s hard to keep up with demand.”

Yugovin, an obesity treatment drug.

It was a new drug that was completely owned by Taewoo Group and Sentryon.

Thanks to the tremendous effect, sales were increasing at a rapid pace.

“It’s still a long way off. In just two or three more years, Sentryon could be among the top five companies in Korea.”

“Actually, I was skeptical at first. But looking at the growth rate, I think it’s possible. The stock price is skyrocketing, and Centrian has now become a true global pharmaceutical company.”

The potential of the bio industry was certainly enormous.

As difficult as it is to successfully develop a new drug, the rewards are certain.

Sentryon can now grow for at least 10 years without developing new drugs.

“You’re not just focusing on Yugoslavia, are you? When you’re full, you tend to get lazy.”

“Fortunately, that’s not the case. And Sentry has an overwhelming number of researchers who are purely research-oriented, rather than business-oriented.”

“With so many university professors here, I guess I can’t afford to neglect my research.”

“All the money they make from Yugoslavia is being spent on DNA research. To be honest, I think that’s an excessive amount of money being reinvested, and there are too many people.”

Vice President Han started calculating in his head again.

If we simply consider the profitability aspect, it would have been right to reduce the reinvestment ratio.

But this was said because we did not know that Corona would come soon.

“Don’t worry, no matter how much you invest, you can make more profit with Yugobin. And if you save on investment, Taewoo Group will stagnate. Even if you suffer losses, you have to try many things.”

“Actually, I’m not too worried. There’s no business that the chairman has ever done that has failed, right? It seems impossible to me, but since the chairman is doing it, I just trust him.”

“I will probably make mistakes many times in the future. But please trust me for the next three or four years.”

The time after the regression was unknown.

That is why we had to secure as much growth momentum as possible before that.

“The current system where the chairman takes care of all the big and small matters is irrational. If the planning department and economic research institute grow further, wouldn’t the chairman’s burden be reduced?”

“They say that the Taewoo Economic Research Institute’s forecast accuracy is better than that of most countries.”

“It’s still very lacking. I’ll try to improve the accuracy a bit more.”

The Taewoo Economic Research Institute boasted incredible accuracy.

Especially when it came to oil prices and international relations, there were times when he was better than me.

But it was still lacking, and a system had to be completed that could accurately predict things without me having to give it information.

“Vice Chairman Han’s shoulders will continue to become heavier.”

“I’ve been focusing on shoulder exercises these days anyway. Feel free to hand me over as much weight as you want.”

“First, please take care of the Saemangeum Chemical Complex. I need to go to Myeongdong for a bit.”

“Are you going to meet Chairman Lee Young-han?”

“I heard you asked for good information. I should go and see Chairman Lee Young-han’s face as well.”

Myeongdong’s information power is not dead yet.

In particular, since the information about the dark world was superior to that of Taewoo Group, I decided to meet with Chairman Lee Young-han.

***

Lee Young-han, who has established himself as the true ruler of Myeong-dong.

He had surpassed his grandfather’s fame and now controlled an organization on the level of a decent bank.

But there was one thing that didn’t change.

He was still living in the mansion where the Gwanghwamun bear lived, and today’s meeting also took place in that mansion full of memories.

“Chairman, you’re here! I thought my neck was going to fall off while I was waiting.”

“Why are you waiting outside? Come inside.”

“Isn’t the weather so nice? Let’s chat in the pavilion for the first time in a while.”

A quaint pavilion located in the center of the mansion.

It was also a place where I often talked to the Gwanghwamun bear.

“It seems like the sperm has changed a little.”

“We did some renovation work. We did it in a way that didn’t change the original appearance as much as possible. We also did some security work. With the help of Captain Kang, we were able to strengthen the security system throughout the mansion. The pavilion is also equipped with a security system.”

It was a pavilion hidden by a large tree.

Although Lee Young-han didn’t really need a security system, he installed one just in case something happened.

“Let’s ask each other more questions later and get straight to the point.”

“My mouth was watering. I confirmed the identity of some of the Bitcoin forces. The forces manipulating stock prices in Myeongdong and the organized crime forces were using Bitcoin as a means of laundering money.”

It was an expected situation.

Bitcoin must have looked even more delicious to a force that did not hesitate to manipulate stock prices.

“How big is the scale? Can’t the financial tower be moved just to catch a few pyramids?”

“The scale I have confirmed is approximately over 200 billion won. Nationwide organizations have taken root in the Bitcoin market.”

“Hmm, it’s quite small.”

Two trillion won was not a small amount of money.

However, it was not enough to satisfy the financial tower, and it was not enough to feed even one of the financial tower’s financial companies.

“That’s true if you look at Korea alone! There are even places that have joined hands with the Japanese yakuza.”

“I’m a little interested in the Yakuza. How big is it?”

“It is estimated to be worth over 1 trillion won. We have information that the yakuza are attempting to create a Bitcoin exchange in Japan and launder the money to Korea.”

Even 1 trillion won was not a satisfactory amount.

It had to be at least 10 times that much to even get a taste of the financial tower.

“Can you make the board a little bigger?”

“It is possible. Even if Myeongdong doesn’t get involved, the board will grow bigger. And if we encourage it, the board can grow even faster.”

“Then let’s expand the scope a bit. This is the opportunity to cut off the money supply of the gangsters and yakuza.”

In fact, even if it was 10 trillion won, it was not a scale that would warrant a financial tower.

It was just a way for the powers that be to use them as sandbags to warm up before the US-China trade war.

“I will try to make things happen the way you want, Chairman. And I have one more thing to report to you. The land purchase for Semiconductor City is nearing its final stages.”

“Thank you for your hard work. I’m sorry I couldn’t take better care of you than last time.”

“Absolutely not. I’ve made enough profit.”

“Can I give you a piece of advice, please?”

“I will always gratefully accept any advice you may have, Chairman.”

“If you have Bitcoin, liquidate it now. The government will start regulating it around the end of the year.”

Hundreds of trillions of dollars were at stake in the semiconductor city.

I gave some information as a reward to Lee Young-han, who is helping to smoothly build a semiconductor city.

There is no loyalty without a price.

In order to use the power of Myeongdong, you had to throw it food periodically.