The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 477



Only Krnovel

477. Large-scale disaster (2)

The next day.

All the media reported on the Japanese automaker manipulation scandal.

And related content was plastered all over social media and portal sites.

In particular, the response to the global automobile TV show that aired last night was explosive.

“It had the highest viewership ratings of all time. It got a huge response, not only in the UK but also in the US and across Europe.”

“The experts were definitely experts. It was a very provocative video.”

“I feel like I’ve been able to do everything I couldn’t do before since they said they’d support the production costs indefinitely.”

It was only a one-hour TV show.

However, the production cost was a whopping 10 billion won.

This was ten times the usual production cost.

“They criticized us very harshly even though we didn’t ask for it.”

“And it doesn’t seem like they’ll just use this material for one time and throw it away. They say they’re also preparing a special feature on Japanese automobile companies for the next episode.”

“You have to boil this kind of material until all the moisture is gone.”

It was a scandal that attracted worldwide attention.

He was a broadcaster who was determined to rush into this opportunity because he didn’t know when he would get another chance like this.

Of course, the political world was more enthusiastic and rushed in than the broadcasting world.

“There are even voices in political circles in the United States and Europe calling for a comprehensive investigation of all Japanese vehicles ever produced.”

“It looks like David did a great job.”

“The ingredients were so fresh that anyone could cook a top-quality meal just by throwing them in. And with David joining in, the result was a very delicious meal.”

When I was talking with Vice President Han about what happened yesterday.

The breaking news we’ve been waiting for has arrived.

“Mr. Chairman! I heard that President Haruo is holding a press conference to apologize. He will admit all wrongdoings and announce follow-up measures.”

“So this is what happens in the end.”

Japanese companies rarely broadcast their work live.

But this scandal was such a global issue that no matter which channel you turned on, the apology press conference was shown as breaking news.

[We committed fraud in the certification exam and put products on the market that should not be sold. We will start from scratch and do everything we can to restore trust.]

President Haruo was the one who admitted his mistakes from the beginning.

The situation was so serious that he, a strong candidate for the next chairman, had to step up.

Even if efforts were made to restore trust, it would not end there.

[We will stop shipments and temporarily suspend production lines for 10 models that use the defective diesel engines. We will also stop shipments for three models that use forklift engines.]

Eventually, there was even talk of shutting down the factory.

Even if the factory operation was halted for just one day, it would result in losses amounting to hundreds of billions of won.

However, since it was not known when operations would resume, the loss was bound to snowball.

[Lastly, we will recall all vehicles with airbag problems. We will be reborn by making the right products in the future.]

It was President Haruo who bowed his head deeply with an apology.

But it wasn’t a problem that could be solved by bowing my head, and the hardships began from the moment I admitted my mistake.

“From recalls to factory shutdowns. I guess we can say they did everything they could.”

“If it goes to court, the damages could be astronomical. In particular, the fate of the company could depend on the outcome of the U.S. lawsuit.”

This is why I said it was just the beginning.

Recalls and factory shutdowns are something we can somehow endure.

The moment they had to pay astronomical damages, they could have to give up all the profits they had earned over decades.

“The period of time will become important.”

“If the lawsuits were only about cars released in the past year or two, we could handle it. But there are stories that they have been manipulating data for at least 10 years and up to 30 years.”

“If I were to pay back 30 years of lies in one lump sum, it would definitely cost me more than emptying the granary.”

“So from now on, they will bow their heads and very likely lobby in all directions to avoid going to court.”

America was a nation of lobbyists.

Since there is nothing that cannot be resolved through lobbying, it is only natural that they will try to resolve this issue through lobbying as well.

But with so many eyes watching, even that isn’t easy. Nothing could be done until the scandal died down.

“Keep adding firewood so the scandal doesn’t die down.”

“There is already a lot of firewood prepared. We plan to hold a whistleblower press conference whenever there is quiet.”

“The financial tower will now begin its harvest season.”

“If the Japanese government tries to defend itself by buying corporate bonds, as it did with the steel companies, we are ready to shake up Japan as well.”

It was a vice president who was very angry.

He was in a state of angst, having not had much fun due to the steel company scandal.

“If they had recalled it earlier, the situation wouldn’t have gotten this bad, but the response was disappointing. They just provoked the character of one vice president and the situation got worse.”

“Isn’t it because I offended the chairman that the situation escalated to this point? Who in the world would spend hundreds of billions of won to analyze a competitor’s vehicle? It’s possible because you’re the chairman.”

I coughed for no reason.

As one vice president said, I was the one who started this situation.

“Ahem, the operational cost alone was at least 50 billion won. Do you think you can recover it?”

“We will try to recover at least 10 times. If we do it well, we can even recover 100 times. It is calculated that we can earn more than 5 trillion won just from Taewoo Securities’ profits, not just from the profits from the financial tower.”

“There is no part of a whale that can be thrown away. Just work hard to remove the bones and eat them all.”

“Hyenas chew and swallow even the bones. They don’t even need to dig them out.”

Hyena of Wall Street.

Among them, the big ones all lived together in the financial tower.

A whale that came out onto land could never defeat a hyena.

***

An emergency meeting was called.

It was a meeting attended by Taewoo, Kai, GM automobile executives and the head of the parts research lab.

They gathered together to discuss the Japanese auto industry scandal.

“There is no sign of things calming down. In fact, things are getting worse. It may be good for us now, but we cannot be completely free from this situation. If you have ever manipulated data, confess now.”

“That has never happened at Taewoo Motors.”

“The same goes for KAI Automobile. All data is transparently disclosed and managed by the AI ​​Center.”

“GM is being reviewed by U.S. agencies, so you don’t have to worry about data manipulation.”

Everyone spoke confidently.

That is understandable, as all subsidiaries of Taewoo Group were managed by a strict system.

In particular, since the artificial intelligence center was at the center of the system, no matter how cleverly the data was manipulated, it would all be discovered.

“Isn’t it a shame? It’s such a shame that only we know that Taewoo Group has such a perfect system.”

“With manipulation incidents breaking out one after another, you can still get windfall profits by just sitting still.”

“In this day and age, who would know if you just sit back and do nothing? So I’m going to make all the testing processes public. From crash test footage to engine and exhaust emissions footage, please transparently release all the footage as soon as the new car is released.”

The whole process was recorded on video.

Just by editing it and uploading it so that it looks good, we can secure credibility.

“I will make the entire process public.”

“Kai Automobile is also confident. It can split the crash test video into frame-by-frame pieces and release it.”

“We will transparently disclose all data, including those commissioned to American research institutes!”

I was reassured to see the management’s response.

Just in case, I checked the management’s detailed information, but there was no data manipulation or anything like that.

“When I listened to the whistleblower’s story, he said that he had no choice but to manipulate data due to the pressure of the new car development period.”

“There has been information circulating in the industry for a long time that the development period of 3 to 4 years has been reduced by more than half. However, I did not know that they were actually doing it.”

The development period for new cars is not long for nothing.

The process was very complicated and required a lot of attention as it required passing various tests.

But when you cut the development period in half, you tend to have bad thoughts about wanting to skip the complicated process.

“Just follow the system. We might make the same mistake that Japanese automakers made when we tried to gain a little bit of profit.”

“I will keep that in mind!”

All the executives of the automobile affiliates spoke in one voice.

Of course, it wasn’t something that could be done just by talking.

In the end, affiliates tend to move according to the group’s tone.

If the head office puts a lot of pressure on sales, there is no choice but to take actions such as excessive cost reduction or shortening of development period to improve profits.

But Taewoo Group wasn’t like that.

Rather than pressuring sales, it forced more investment.

This was possible because the profitable part could be extracted from places like Taewoo Securities or Taewoo Semiconductor.

***

Japanese automakers have begun recalls in earnest.

Coincidentally, it was the time when the recall of Taewoo Group’s automobile affiliates was coming to an end.

That’s why one vice president gave an interim report with a broad smile.

“The stock prices of Taewoo Group’s automobile affiliates are rising simultaneously. On the other hand, the stock prices of Japanese automobile companies are falling. The only regret is that Taewoo Automobile’s stock price has not risen as much as the stock prices of Japanese companies have fallen.”

“I can’t take it all. But I think the stock prices of Japanese automakers aren’t falling as much as I thought.”

There was no dramatic stock price decline.

Even though the recall was carried out, the stock price was defended at a certain level.

“As the world’s number one automobile industry, we have a strong defense system. However, the current is so strong that the dam will break soon. To be exact, the financial tower is planning to step in and break the dam.”

“You’ve made a lot of profit over the past 30 years, so your finances must be solid.”

“There are limits to defending using internal reserves. And if a lawsuit starts to escalate, you can never defend using only internal reserves.”

#1 in the industry.

It was a position that had been maintained for 20 years.

Because we had been diligently building up our granary, we were able to defend it for now.

But the moment the granary was completely empty, they would lose their power to defend themselves.

“It’s going to be a fight to see whose granary will be emptied first.”

“No matter how big the automaker’s granary is, is it as big as the financial company’s granary? Furthermore, we are not just one financial company, but we are moving together at the level of a financial tower. The more we resist, the more damage we will suffer.”

The financial tower’s funds have long since surpassed the size of the nation.

Even with the help of the Japanese government, it was difficult to overcome the financial tower.

However, in the current situation, it was overwhelmingly advantageous for the financial tower because it was difficult for the Japanese government to even actively step in.

“Still, it will take quite some time for the barn to dry out.”

“That may be true for the auto companies, but other companies’ coffers have already been emptied. This incident has had a major impact on the entire Japanese industry, and Japanese electronics companies, which were already struggling with a lack of funds, are now being shaken.”

The automobile industry was the center of Japanese industry.

Even if the center shakes just a little, the periphery shakes greatly.

“The Japanese electronics industry is having a really hard time.”

“That’s why Toshiba contacted me. They said they wanted to cancel the contract with the Russian factory.”

“Really? I need to meet you in person. Please schedule a time.”

I don’t know about other companies, but…

Toshiba was a company that had plenty of areas that could have been overlooked.

Wouldn’t it be a win-win if we helped them with their most cash-strapped areas and acquired the parts we wanted?