The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 476



Only Krnovel

476. Large-scale disaster (1)

A week later.

The head of the parts research lab came to our headquarters early in the morning.

In his hands he held an interim report on the experiments being conducted by Taewoo, Kai, GM, and the Parts Research Lab.

“How did something come out?”

“We conducted experiments by dividing them into parts, and were able to find defects, big and small, in all parts.”

Could it be because we stayed up all night conducting experiments?

Or maybe you’re upset because someone in your industry has broken the rules?

The director of the research institute reported with an expression like that of a demon.

“I want to know what defects there are in each part.”

“First of all, the emissions part. They were manipulating data in almost the same way as the dieselgate incident in 2015.”

“Hasn’t that issue already become public knowledge?”

Dieselgate was an ugly scandal perpetrated by European car companies.

They announced that they had developed a device to reduce harmful gas emissions, but in reality, they had manipulated the data through deception.

And several Japanese car companies were also involved.

Because German automakers were manipulating things on such a large scale, they were able to get relatively unnoticed.

“However, according to our recent investigation, we have confirmed that other companies have been manipulating their emissions for a long time. And they have even been manipulating their fuel efficiency.”

“This part was an expected defect.”

The driving force behind this experiment, which cost hundreds of billions of won, was exhaust gas.

The Japanese automaker had been having problems with exhaust fumes even before its return, so it was clear that it could secure evidence if it just conducted the experiment.

But the content that followed was a flaw that even I didn’t know about.

It was a huge defect, on a whole other level than emissions manipulation.

“And next is the airbag. We conducted a side impact test considering what the chairman said, and the test dummy sustained significant damage. This is a part that can never be commercialized.”

“There was a reason why the tuned vehicle was provided for the experiment conducted by the institution.”

“However, we have confirmed similar problems not only in vehicles for the Japanese domestic market but also in vehicles exported. In particular, there were fatal airbag defects even in high-end vehicles.”

This was really unexpected.

It was expected that the airbag manipulation would only be done on domestic vehicles.

But how swollen must one be to commit the same act on export vehicles?

“I guess this is a problem that will inevitably lead to a 100% recall.”

“The next defect is not a recall, but a fatal defect that could lead to a factory shutdown.”

I thought the worst would be a recall.

But the director of the research institute went a step further and even predicted a factory shutdown.

What on earth is the defect that has caused the factory to shut down?

“Is there a problem with the engine as well?”

“Yes, the engine output itself was manipulated. I suspect it was manipulated using the ECU.”

Electronic Control Unit (EUC).

The device is called the brain of the car, and in computer terms it could be called the CPU.

If there had been manipulation using the most important part, it would have been a serious matter that could have led to a shutdown of the factory, as the director of the research institute said.

“You are manipulating things in so many different ways.”

“I never imagined that the Japanese automobile industry, which has the largest share of the global automobile market, would commit manipulation on this scale.”

“They benefited from the image. The whole world was fooled into thinking that this country of craftsmanship would never do such a thing.”

That’s why images were important.

You could call it propaganda.

Japan had been reaping enormous benefits up until now through propaganda that it was a nation of craftsmanship.

But the mask was taken off.

It was our turn to face the huge aftershock.

“There’s something even scarier. We’ve only just conducted the first experiment, and yet we’ve already secured countless evidences of manipulation.”

“If we proceed with the second and third experiments, we will be able to secure more evidence.”

“Every time we conduct an experiment, evidence of defects emerges, and I start to doubt the entire automobile industry. Perhaps in our Taewoo Group too… … .”

I could guess what the director of the institute was worried about.

He was now in a situation where he was doubting everything, and it had gotten to the point where he was even doubting Taewoo Group’s vehicles.

“Taewoo Motors should also conduct experiments at the research institute level. Then, instruct each automobile affiliate to conduct experiments on other affiliate vehicles.”

“Then, defects may be discovered.”

“Once you find a defect, you take action. Then you create a system to prevent the same mistake from happening again.”

The solution was very easy.

It just cost a lot of money and could have wiped out immediate sales.

But if we think about the future, it was the right thing to do and we should not follow the mistakes that Japanese automakers made.

And there was confidence.

Taewoo Group’s automobiles were systems in which data manipulation was impossible.

All data was being deeply analyzed at the AI ​​Center, and it was not easy to manipulate it as competing affiliates were fiercely competing against it.

“I will continue to conduct experiments, trusting only the Chairman.”

“Please organize and send me the evidence data you have obtained so far. And please update the data every week.”

“It will be updated automatically with the help of the AI ​​Center. But I will check it again.”

The director of the research institute still had a bitter expression on his face.

I patted his shoulder and saw him off.

***

I checked the defective manipulation data with one of the vice presidents.

It was Vice President Han who immediately realized the seriousness of the situation thanks to the director of the research institute adding an explanation that was easy for the general public to understand.

“A big fish was caught! We were going to catch a mackerel and split it, but we ended up catching a whale.”

“You can’t lift a whale with a fishing rod. You need a large crane to transport it to land, right?

“That’s true. If you try to lift it with a fishing rod, the whale might break the line and escape by eating it.”

“So let’s use the US and Europe as cranes to rescue the whale.”

Moving only the Taewoo Group was not enough.

If we moved all the way to the financial tower, it would have been somewhat possible.

To make things more certain, the United States and the European Union had to take action.

“I’ll call David right now.”

“I have already sent you the relevant information by email, so they are probably reviewing it.”

A vice president called David.

As expected, it was David who answered the phone with the aforementioned voice, as he was reviewing the materials.

[Wow! What is going on? Was it Japanese automakers, not Japanese steel companies, who were doing this kind of large-scale manipulation?]

“We have evidence that data has been manipulated for at least 10 years. Can we move the US and the EU?”

[There is no need to lobby separately. Just throw out the information and the political circles will accept it favorably.]

Politicians were beings who fed on issues.

The bigger the issue, the more attention it could receive.

If it were a scandal on the level of systematic data manipulation at a Japanese automobile company, it could have grown to the level of a presidential candidate in an instant.

“I know, but if the steam goes out, the ripple effect is weak. If you explode it in one go, the explosive power will be strong.”

[Don’t worry about that. The US Department of Justice is holding firm right now. If the Japanese steel company’s data manipulation is followed by the auto company’s data manipulation, the entire White House, starting with the Department of Justice, will rush in.]

“At the very least, we need to have a major recall, and hopefully even a factory shutdown.”

[I will make Japanese automobile companies regress by 30 years with this incident.]

David was good at bragging though.

However, that doesn’t mean that I was the type to make up stories that didn’t exist.

He said this because he thought the manipulation incident was quite serious.

“You can also ask research institutes in the US and Europe to do the work. The costs can be financed through fintech banks.”

[I’ll put in a request to all the famous vehicle research institutes.]

“And is it possible to get a chance to be on a variety show? If it’s broadcast on TV, wouldn’t the impact be several times greater?”

[When you say car entertainment, do you mean Top Gear? If you put in advertisements and support the production cost, we can easily get them. Of course, we can’t manipulate it to our liking, but isn’t it unnecessary to manipulate it?]

There are many cases where entertainment has a stronger impact than the media.

The effect was especially good in entertainment programs that were mainly watched in English-speaking countries.

“We’re just checking the data that has already been manipulated, so there’s no need to manipulate it separately. We’ll support all the production costs, so plan a big show.”

[It’s going to be the greatest TV show ever. Don’t viewers like sensational material? There’s nothing more sensational than exposing manipulation.]

“Move as quickly as possible. It has to be done within two months at the latest.”

[What can’t be bought with money? If you have money, you can buy time. I’ll make it so that it can be aired in one month, not two.]

If you invest money that matches the cost of making a movie.

Producing a high-quality TV show in a short period of time was no easy task.

Just providing the relevant information we have could yield some very provocative material.

“I also have to move quickly. If we want to catch whales, not just tuna or squid, the entire financial tower has to move quickly.”

“It’s been a while since the financial tower has come to life.”

David covered the US, Europe and TV.

One vice president was in charge of the financial tower’s enormous financial resources.

The work of creating a tight net that Japanese automakers will never be able to escape has begun in earnest.

***

Exactly 35 days later.

The U.S. Department of Justice held a press conference.

To summarize in one line, the content was like this.

[Japanese automaker suspected of data manipulation, strong legal action and thorough investigation promised.]

I watched the press conference together with the vice president.

In the meantime, breaking news continued to arrive.

“I asked the American political circles. Politicians are going wild over safety-related issues such as airbags and engine problems.”

“When will the European Union make an announcement?”

“They said they’ll announce it today. And the TV show is scheduled to air this evening.”

We put a lot of effort into scheduling to create a strong explosive force.

It has to be on the same day as the US, the EU and even a TV show, so that it can focus the attention of the whole world.

“What is the reaction in Japan?”

“There has been no response yet. It seems like they were completely unprepared for this sudden incident.”

“Keep pushing before you prepare.”

“We have taken steps to ensure that the experimental data from overseas research institutes can be released by tomorrow. We have also prepared a press conference for the whistleblower.”

The last room was also the voice of the whistleblower.

If only we could convey to the public in a vivid voice what was going on inside, the game would be over.

“Pay special attention to the safety of whistleblowers.”

“I moved my residence to the United States and Europe. I also decided to hold the press conference in the United States and Europe. I took that action because I thought that if I remained in Japan, I would be subject to persuasion and threats.”

“Good job. If the whistleblower wants, you can help him with his green card or immigration work.”

The bomb exploded.

Now all that was left to do was watch how huge the explosion would be.

It was a spectacle worth watching, as it was an explosion that could shake not only the Japanese automobile industry but the entire Japanese economy.