The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 467



Only Krnovel

467. Prepare (2)

Saemangeum Chemical Complex expansion construction site.

To lighten the mood a little, I visited the area myself and met with local residents.

Several groups, including environmental groups and civic groups, were protesting, but they were unable to raise their voices because they were in front of local residents.

“Taewoo Group is planning to make significant investments for the development of Saemangeum and the Honam region.”

[Isn’t it possible that all of the plans are chemical complexes?]

[Environmental groups are saying that toxic substances are leaking out of the chemical complex. Is that not true?]

There were many worried local residents.

It was a natural concern for them, as this was their home.

“No toxic substances will be emitted. I promise this with everything Taewoo Group has. And we are building not only the chemical complex but also several factories in Saemangeum and Honam regions.”

[Can you tell me which factory it is?]

“A large-scale electric vehicle battery factory will soon be built in the Saemangeum area. It is a large-scale factory that will create at least 10,000 jobs.”

Few people found the automobile factory to be a disgusting facility.

There was no one who did not know how much regions like Ulsan and Changwon had grown thanks to automobile factories.

[It’s not like an electric car battery factory is coming in instead of a pharmaceutical company, right?]

“The Sentryon new factory has already been built, and we plan to build an additional electric vehicle battery factory.”

[It’s good that the factory is coming in, but… … .]

“We will give regional bonus points for new hires. We will give 5 or more bonus points to talents from the Honam region, making it easier for them to get hired than from other regions.”

I swung different kinds of carrots.

Only then did the local residents smile in satisfaction.

After the meeting, they even demonstrated their ability to drive out the groups that had set up camp around Saemangeum.

“Mr. Chairman, do you plan to build more battery factories?”

“We need to slowly bring our factories in China back to Korea. By using automated equipment, we can solve the labor cost problem to some extent.”

“Are you completely withdrawing from the Chinese battery factory?”

“It’s not a complete withdrawal, but a partial withdrawal. If we completely withdraw, there will be chaos since our relationship with China is not good. Instead, we will withdraw some of our battery factories in Russia and build factories in Korea.”

Taewoo Group had quite a few factories in Russia.

Some of the cars and electronic products supplied to Europe were produced in Russian factories.

It was also a plant built in exchange for securing Russia’s natural gas stake.

“Is it okay to withdraw from the Russian factory? It could even worsen relations with Russia.”

“So we have to take it slow. First, we have to start by withdrawing internal combustion engine car factories. We can do that by making an excuse to focus on electric car production.”

“I don’t think the Russian government will look favorably on the withdrawal of the factory.”

“If we withdraw from the factory, then yes, but if we sell it to another automaker, we won’t have any problems.”

The last memory before returning was the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I didn’t know how the war progressed or how it ended, but I remembered clearly that the war had started.

“Is there any reason why we must withdraw from the Russian factory?”

“Do you remember the Donbass war in 2014?”

“I remember it clearly. At that time, I made a lot of money by short selling Russian companies.”

“I have a strong feeling that the same thing will happen again.”

Vice Chairman Han also nodded.

My prediction was not far-fetched, and the Taewoo Economic Research Institute had even produced a related report.

“In 2014, we were subject to massive economic sanctions from the US and Europe because of the Donbass war. If the same thing happens again, we could face even greater sanctions.”

“Even if they are subject to economic sanctions, they will soon realize that it will be okay after a few years. Then they will reveal their ambitions for territorial expansion again.”

“Even if the US does that, can Europe impose sanctions on Russia? Doesn’t Europe depend on Russia for most of its natural gas?”

A pipeline connecting Russia and Europe.

This allowed Europe to import natural gas from Russia cheaply.

If the pipeline were to be blocked, Europe would face a massive energy crisis.

“But there’s nothing we can do about it. After the war in Ukraine ends, there will be growing anxiety that other European countries could be the next target.”

“Then Russia will be completely isolated.”

“The US and Europe will put pressure on companies that have entered Russia at the national level. The same goes for Taewoo Group.”

“So you’re saying we should withdraw from the Russian factory?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure. But I think it’s the only way to minimize the damage.”

There was no information about the situation after the war.

So, I had no idea what would happen to the factory in Russia.

But what is clear is that just having a factory in Russia was bound to be a hassle.

“I agree with the chairman’s thoughts. Then, I will spread rumors about the sale of the Russian factory little by little. I think we will soon hear a response from Japanese automobile companies or Hyundai Motor Group that are looking to enter the Russian market.

“It’s not urgent. Just compete to get the highest possible price.”

“The current automobile group is desperate to secure a share in Russia. And Japanese automobile companies are also making efforts to enter Russia. If you drop just a little bait, won’t the fish come flocking in?”

Russia’s population has exceeded 140 million.

It was the country with the 9th largest population in the world and seemed to have endless growth potential due to its abundant resources.

That is why many automobile companies have targeted the Russian market.

This is also the reason why Japanese companies, as well as Hyundai Motors, are trying to increase their market share in Russia.

“We also need to build new factories to replace the Russian factories, so we need to look for suitable European countries.”

“I will try to contact the Czech Republic, Türkiye and Poland.”

Taewoo Group was making many preparations for the future.

It was meant to prepare for trade disputes and resource wars, but Russia was literally preparing for war, so much so that it was ready for war.

***

The Artificial Intelligence Center was collaborating with many places.

In particular, we have been working on several projects as one with the Korean campus of IIT (Indian Institute of Technology).

All the professors in the IIT AI department had the title of AI Center.

All undergraduate and graduate students were working on projects with their professors.

The student who graduated like that naturally got a job at Taewoo Group.

IIT Korea Campus was ranked as the number one university that science students want to attend because it guarantees stable jobs and high income.

Naturally, outstanding talents entered the IIT Korea campus.

There were also cases where unexpected results were produced.

“Sir, a graduate student at the IIT Artificial Intelligence Center has created a great program.”

“If the planning director is reporting on it, then it must be a truly outstanding program.”

There are hundreds of programs and products developed at IIT.

It was rare for the planning director to report directly, and even if he did, he would report in a bundle.

But this time, the planning director came with only one program.

“It’s a program created by six graduate students, and it’s truly amazing.”

“What kind of program is it that makes you laugh so much, sir?”

“It is an office service that uses artificial intelligence. It automatically organizes large amounts of data and creates PPT or Excel data. It also creates reports according to the format.”

AI office services.

This technology has already been developed.

Even before the regression, there were only predictions that it would come out, but I never actually saw it come out.

But, even though it is affiliated with the Artificial Intelligence Center.

I never expected that a few graduate students would join forces to create an AI office service.

“How is the performance?”

“There are still many areas that need improvement, but it is still a great help. First, we will proceed with office work using AI office services, and only people will need to correct any insufficient parts. The work of 10 people can be done by 2 people.”

This meant that labor costs could be significantly reduced.

It didn’t matter if we couldn’t reduce labor costs, because it was a service that could improve the work capabilities of existing employees.

“Graduate students are truly amazing.”

“This is an achievement made by three Korean students and three Indian students.”

“Was this a project conducted in collaboration with the center? Or was it a project that the professor conducted voluntarily?”

“Neither. After looking into the backstory, I found out that it was created to somehow resolve the workload.”

It wasn’t a project?

They just created an AI office service to somehow reduce the workload because they had a lot of work to do.

“How much work must you have to do to create such a program?”

“It is said that graduate students are responsible for more than three times the amount of work as Taewoo Group employees. It is said that the workload is so high that it cannot be completed even if the school provides accommodations.”

“Is it possible to give someone so much work that they can’t even go home? If it were that much work, I think even Taewoo Group employees would quit.”

“… … It is possible for graduate students.”

Aren’t graduate students human?

The planning director spoke to the graduate students as if they were robots or machines.

“Shouldn’t we reduce the workload?”

“There is nothing that Taewoo Group can do. The workload varies entirely depending on the professor’s style. And because the workload is so large, such ingenious programs have been developed.”

“Well, it’s not like anyone pushed me to go to graduate school. If I work hard as a graduate student and get a job at Taewoo Group, I might be able to adapt more quickly.”

“IIT graduates are sought after by all affiliated companies.”

What if a company made you do something like this?

Not only was it a matter of resignation, but it was also a matter of reporting to the Ministry of Labor.

But this was possible because graduate students were not workers.

Of course, I am not condoning this bad practice.

But since it wasn’t something I could solve, I decided to appease them with a little compensation.

“Give scholarships to the graduate students who developed the program. I think it would be about the same as the performance bonus that Taewoo Group’s deputy managers receive. Also, have Taewoo Group purchase the patent rights to the program.”

“The patent right belongs to the research lab, not the graduate student. We will discuss with the lab to secure the patent right. Also, since it was created based on Taewoo Group’s artificial intelligence technology, it may be difficult to register the patent without our permission.”

What compensation can I give?

Offering compensation in money was the easiest and most effective way.

And if Taewoo Group’s employment condition was made a requirement for scholarship payment, it could have prevented them from running away to other places.

Can’t someone who worked hard at IIT graduate school be taken away by someone else?

The moment I received the scholarship, I had to stay at Taewoo Group for at least 10 years.

It may be a cruel method, but isn’t that how the world is taught?