The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 513



Only Krnovel

## 513. Food Cartel (3)

I returned to Korea after finishing negotiations with the food cartel.

As soon as I arrived at the airport, I called in Vice Chairman Han, Center Director Cheon Min-jeong, and President Lisa and President Wei of Taewoo Semiconductor.

When we arrived at headquarters, they were already in the conference room.

He greeted me with a face that seemed curious as to why I had summoned him.

“I’m sorry for calling you in so suddenly.”

“No. I also wanted to see the chairman as soon as possible.”

A vice president answered wittily.

But his face wasn’t all that good.

He seemed upset because he knew the size of the contract signed with the grain major company.

So, to change the mood, I started with a lighter topic.

“I heard that engineers who were laid off in China have started coming to Korea. How is the situation going?”

“Since they are technicians who returned to Korea without receiving proper severance pay, they are trying very hard to find jobs. However, not only large Korean companies but also small and medium-sized companies are not hiring them.”

Most of the engineers who returned from China had previously worked at large Korean companies.

Accepting them, who were affiliated with major Korean companies such as Taewoo, Samjin, and CL, was tantamount to saying that they would turn their backs on the major companies.

What small business would want to go up against a big company just to hire a few technicians?

Even if it was a mid-sized company with high technology and a position as a super company, it did not want to be at odds with large companies.

“American, European, and Japanese companies have also said they will not accept engineers who have gone to China.”

“It is almost impossible to find a job in the existing field. And you should worry about arrest before worrying about finding a job. The prosecution is currently investigating anyone who leaks even a little bit of technology.”

It was a fast-moving prosecution investigation.

This speed was possible because I investigated the technology leak by utilizing my abilities and the abilities of Taewoo Group.

“There are quite a few technicians who used to belong to Taewoo Semiconductor. Do you have any intention of accepting them?”

“There is no reason to accept people who are already behind. During the few years they were in China, Taewoo Semiconductor developed several times faster. They have the technology of the past, so there is nothing to regret.”

President Lisa spoke firmly.

She was more sensitive to technological advancement than anyone else.

In particular, he extremely disliked the technology he had developed being leaked to the outside.

“What was the reaction of the employees who worked with them?”

“The resignation rate has decreased dramatically. When I see with my own eyes the words of the engineers who have moved to China, I feel like I can feel how warm the embrace of Taewoo Semiconductor is.”

The reason for moving to China was money.

However, there were cases where the promised salary was not paid or retirement pay was not received.

So, the atmosphere has become stronger that there is no reason to go to China and take risks.

“If we get into a full-scale arrest investigation, the resignation rate will be lower than it is now.”

“By the way, Mr. Chairman, is this the reason you have called us together to discuss this matter?”

“I’m also short on time because I have a project I’m working on right now. If it’s not urgent, can I wake up early?”

Not only President Lisa, but even Cheon Min-jeong half got up from her seat.

I decided to get to the point quickly before I actually got up from my seat.

“We plan to build additional semiconductor factories in Vietnam and India.”

“The semiconductor city in Gyeonggi Province is not yet operating at 100% capacity. However, if additional factories are built, semiconductor prices will fall.”

One vice president came forward to oppose it.

Even though it is said that the semiconductor industry is booming right now, he thought that expanding the factory here was not a good idea.

President Lisa and Center Director Cheon Min-jeong also had similar reactions.

President Wei, who was in charge of the foundry, showed interest.

“How much more do you plan to increase it?”

“We plan to proceed on a scale that will allow us to replace at least 50% of the Chinese semiconductor market, even if it is not large enough to replace it.”

“If the plan is to target the Chinese market, it will mostly be low-tech semiconductors. Taewoo Group already has an automated factory complex capable of mass producing low-tech semiconductors.”

Why don’t you know?

It was an automated factory created through competition between President Lisa and President Wei.

However, producing semiconductors only in Korean factories could not fully cope with the impending semiconductor crisis.

Of course, this problem could be solved by building more factories in Korea.

However, the reason for building factories in countries like India and Vietnam was to form alliances.

“We have already entered the Indian and Vietnamese markets, but wouldn’t we need to build a large-scale factory to go deeper than that?”

“Are you saying that you are expanding your factory to secure overseas markets? Even if you say so, the scale is too large.”

“If we build it only with Taewoo Group’s money, it would obviously be a burdensome scale. However, if we receive support from the Vietnamese and Indian governments, we can build the factory at a low price.”

Securing overseas markets.

This alone was not convincing enough.

That’s why these executives kept talking about why we shouldn’t continue to build overseas factories.

“With support from the Indian and Vietnamese governments, we can certainly build a factory, but just having a factory doesn’t mean we can produce semiconductors. We need to have the facilities and equipment to operate it. In particular, it is very difficult to secure exposure equipment.”

“There is no need to use new exposure equipment to produce low-tech semiconductors. Old equipment will be readily available.”

“Currently, Chinese semiconductor companies are aggressively purchasing older equipment.”

“If we could just get half of that, we could run the factory. We can get enough old equipment now.”

It was possible because it was now.

The moment the U.S. government begins to impose full-scale sanctions on Chinese IT companies.

Chinese semiconductor-related companies were expected to purchase large quantities of semiconductors, parts, and equipment.

So, we had to sign a supply contract from now on to secure the equipment stably.

“You can get enough if you give them a little extra money, but it’s not profitable at all. Even though labor costs in India and Vietnam are cheaper than in China, it costs a lot to stabilize a factory.”

“If we partially apply the automated factory that Taewoo Semiconductor has developed and applied, wouldn’t we be able to reduce costs?”

“That said, we will have to compete with Chinese semiconductor companies. Chinese semiconductor companies, which are supported by the Chinese government, will certainly supply older semiconductors at lower prices.”

President Wei said with a worried expression.

As he was in charge of foundry plants and old semiconductor production, he knew the market situation better than anyone else.

Something that even the top experts are against.

Normally I would have followed suit, but not this time.

“You said it was difficult to compete with Chinese companies?”

“Yes. It seems like a bad choice to engage in a cutthroat competition with Chinese companies that are receiving financial support from the Chinese government. And if Taewoo Semiconductor aggressively produces old-fashioned semiconductors, the supply will exceed the demand.”

“Under normal circumstances, yes. But will the US just sit back and watch Chinese companies prosper?”

Semiconductors are playing a central role in the US-China hegemony war.

It was the United States that tried to block China’s rise in semiconductors.

They were trying to push out China not only in the new semiconductor market but also in the old semiconductor market.

“Do you expect the US to impose strong sanctions on Chinese semiconductor companies?”

“It is impossible to produce semiconductors without a license from the United States. Even if it is China, there is nothing it can do.”

“So you’re saying that we should build old semiconductor production bases in India and Vietnam assuming that Chinese companies are unable to produce semiconductors?”

It was not an assumption, it was a conviction.

The United States imposes strong sanctions on Chinese semiconductor companies.

That is why the ‘semiconductor crisis’ broke out, and especially in the case of automotive semiconductors, the unfortunate event of a supply shortage delaying the release of new cars by more than a year occurred.

“I believe that the US will actively sanction the Chinese semiconductor market within two years at the latest. So Taewoo Semiconductor should produce as many old semiconductors as possible to secure inventory.”

“If that doesn’t happen… … we will have to take care of all the inventory. Bad inventory could be a drag on Taewoo Semiconductor.”

What company likes inventory?

There are various costs involved in producing a product.

A warehouse was needed for storage, and periodic maintenance work was also needed to maintain the condition of the goods.

Dead inventory that must be stored for long periods of time holds businesses back.

It was clear that this would have a negative impact on Taewoo Group’s sales as it would incur double and triple costs.

But the moment the semiconductor crisis occurred, the dead stocks became pearls in the mud and could be sold at high prices.

“The headquarters will take full responsibility. In order to prevent any disruption to Taewoo Semiconductor’s sales, we will handle all bad inventory by purchasing it from the Taewoo Group headquarters.”

“Are you also talking about products produced in factories in India and Vietnam?”

“Of course. But even if we make plans and start construction right now, it will take at least a year to produce semiconductors, so don’t be in too much of a hurry.”

At least 1 year.

It may be just before the semiconductor crisis begins.

The moment semiconductor factories in India and Vietnam are completed, the semiconductor crisis will begin.

There was absolutely nothing to worry about, as the product would be sold all over the world as soon as it was produced.

“I will follow the chairman’s wishes. However, if the US and China reconcile, Taewoo Group could lose tens of trillions of won.”

“I will take full responsibility. You just focus on semiconductor production.”

“But what should I do?”

Director Cheon Min-jeong raised his hand and spoke.

She had an expression on her face as if she didn’t know why she was here, since the AI ​​Center and this matter had nothing to do with it.

“Please participate more actively in the development and production project of HBM semiconductors for AI-related devices.”

“Should we study ways to reduce the production costs that are too high compared to performance?”

“Yes. And please find a way to further improve performance. We also plan to expand the HBM semiconductor factory to more than five times its current size.”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t just leave HBM semiconductors alone.

Although it is said to be less efficient now, it is clear that if it has higher performance than existing semiconductors, it will likely be used in artificial intelligence devices.

“Although we are conducting research jointly with NVIDIA, we will conduct more in-depth research at the AI ​​Center level.”

“And the GPU production plant in Korea will also break ground soon.”

“With the help of the government, we have completed the land acquisition work. We can start construction in January next year.”

The future was an era led by AI.

If Taewoo Group monopolizes that part, wouldn’t it be able to secure growth momentum for at least 20 years?