CH452 | Heir

Executive meeting of Taewoo Semiconductors.

President Lisa, who oversaw the fabless division, and President Wei, recently promoted to lead the foundry sector—

Along with the twenty executives under their leadership, all attended the meeting.

Since there hadn’t been a year-end performance report, they must have assumed this executive meeting was the time to present it. Each arrived at the conference room with stacks of thick documents in hand.

“We will now begin the Taewoo Semiconductor Vision Meeting.”

“I wasn’t planning on receiving performance reports, but since it seems everyone came well-prepared, shall we start with them first?”

The head of planning acted as moderator.

As soon as the meeting began, I handed the microphone over to the executives of Taewoo Semiconductors.

President Lisa took the mic on behalf of the group and presented the data on Taewoo Semiconductor’s 2016 performance.

Just going through the data took more than thirty minutes.

I focused on the concluding remarks that summarized it all.

“Taewoo Semiconductors continues to set new record highs every year. And this year, even greater demand is expected. We anticipate at least a 20% increase in operating profits for the first quarter alone.”

“With last year’s sales hitting 200 trillion won and operating profit alone at 30 trillion, it certainly proves the semiconductor market is booming.”

The semiconductor industry was cyclical.

Right now, it was at the peak of prosperity.

But in two years, the downturn cycle would inevitably arrive.

Ordinarily, that would mean scaling back investments.

However, the upcoming COVID era would instantly overturn that downturn, so there was no need to worry.

At least until the pandemic hit, demand for semiconductors was bound to keep rising.

“Supply still can’t keep up with demand. Fortunately, Taewoo Semiconductors was able to post strong sales because we had expanded our factory capacity early on.”

“Indeed, semiconductor demand has grown significantly. At the very least, the market looks promising for this year and next.”

“Sales and operating profits are high, but large sums are being poured into developing the semiconductor city and remodeling old factories. Because of this, operating profits may drop.”

Taewoo Semiconductors earned over 30 trillion won a year.

Such results were possible because the company had secured an early lead in the foundry market.

Once the first phase of the semiconductor city was completed next year, operating profits could very well exceed 100 trillion won.

Market prosperity combined with sheer production volume created a synergy effect.

In this booming semiconductor market, operating profits could potentially triple.

“Remodeling the old factories must also be costing a great deal.”

“Semiconductors are products with very fast-changing cycles. That means we must regularly bring in new facilities and equipment, as well as carry out internal factory renovations.”

A semiconductor plant was in a constant state of remodeling.

At minimum, the facilities had to be updated every five years, leading to the common saying that semiconductor construction workers essentially had lifetime job security.

“In fact, one of the reasons I called you all here today is precisely because of the old factory remodeling issue.”

“I’ve questioned the necessity of remodeling those older plants myself. Once the semiconductor city is completed, there will be little need for them. No matter how much we expand or replace facilities and equipment, they simply aren’t suitable for producing next-generation semiconductors.”

The semiconductor city was specialized for advanced semiconductors.

Conversely, the old factories were limited to older-generation chips, so their remodeling potential had clear limits.

“In the end, old factories can only produce old semiconductors.”

“And there’s little reason to produce them. China is already manufacturing older-generation semiconductors at low prices, leaving us far behind in price competitiveness.”

China’s semiconductor push naturally began with legacy chips.

While Taewoo Semiconductors and Samjin Semiconductors were striving to develop 7-nanometer chips, Chinese companies focused their efforts on developing and producing 28-nanometer and larger legacy chips.

“Still, we can’t completely stop producing 28-nanometer and above chips just because of lost price competitiveness. The moment we let Chinese firms take over that segment of the market, the technological gap will close even faster.”

“Are you suggesting we continue producing older-generation semiconductors even if it means taking losses?”

In fact, this issue had only come to mind recently.

It all began when China’s Tsinghua Group tried to use industrial spies to steal Taewoo Semiconductor’s technology and know-how.

Why should we leave them any room?

If we abandoned the legacy semiconductor market simply because it wasn’t profitable, Chinese companies would step in without resistance.

“If we introduce maximum automation into the legacy semiconductor production process, we won’t suffer losses.”

“We’re already using many automated machines and facilities in production. Of course, compared to next-generation semiconductors, there’s more room for automation with legacy chips, but complete automation is impossible.”

“Then remodel the old factories so that only a minimal number of workers are needed to keep them running. As long as we don’t incur losses, that’s enough.”

This decision wasn’t based purely on profitability.

If profit were the only concern, it would make more sense to let latecomers take over legacy semiconductor production.

For other products, perhaps we would have done exactly that.

But semiconductors were strategic weapons. We had to maintain our share of the pie.

Not all electronic devices required cutting-edge chips—many still relied on older ones.

And if the trade war between the U.S. and China escalated, legacy semiconductors could suddenly become a decisive variable.

Even if the U.S. restricted the Chinese semiconductor industry, when it came to legacy chips, they would still be forced to buy from China to keep supply lines intact.

But what if Taewoo Semiconductors could provide those chips instead?

Then Taewoo Group would seize greater control of the market and wield a stronger voice.

“To convert the old plants into automated factories will require significant capital investment.”

“Even if the costs outweigh the benefits, that’s fine. We must hold on to the legacy semiconductor market in order to keep latecomers in check.”

“The technology gap between Taewoo and latecomers is at least five years. Even with massive government support, China won’t be able to close the gap in less than two years.”

“But if we keep our grip on the legacy market, that gap could widen beyond five years. After all, semiconductors are an industry where both technology and know-how must combine.”

The greater the production volume, the more know-how naturally accumulated.

And if Taewoo Semiconductors kept production locked in its grasp, latecomers would simply be deprived of the chance to build up their own volume.

“Are you truly saying it doesn’t matter if we incur losses?”

“Even if the losses reach into the trillions, it doesn’t matter. The revenues from advanced chips can cover it, and if that isn’t enough, headquarters will provide additional support.”

“Then… may I proceed as I see fit?”

Lisa’s expression changed instantly.

Up until now, she had only been voicing negative opinions.

But the moment I said it didn’t matter if we incurred losses, her face lit up with a mischievous grin.

“And what exactly do you plan to do?”

“There’s a type of factory model I’ve wanted to try for a long time. By combining it with artificial intelligence, I want to minimize the areas where human control is needed, and bring together all the technologies that have already been applied in logistics warehouses and automobile factories to build a fully automated semiconductor plant.”

Taewoo Group possessed outstanding automation technology.

Through its collaboration with Amazon, it had been co-developing advanced automation equipment.

The automotive division had also developed and deployed various robots, including robotic arms.

And then there was Taewoo’s artificial intelligence research, spearheaded by Minjeong Cheon at the AI Center.

“So, what you’re really saying is that you want to mobilize every technological strength Taewoo Group has to build an automated factory.”

“Exactly. Not just a so-called smart factory on paper, but a true one. I’ll combine our automotive, logistics, and AI technologies to build a factory that runs without a single human operator.”

Was this really the same person who had been worrying about deficits just moments ago?

To build the kind of smart factory Lisa envisioned would cost at least three times more—and possibly up to ten times more—than ordinary remodeling.

And there wasn’t just one legacy plant.

Starting next year, entire clusters of old, large-scale factories would be coming online.

If all of them were converted into smart factories, the costs could spiral far beyond expectations.

“If we don’t try it now, it might never be possible. Since Taewoo Semiconductor’s revenues are on the rise, do it your way, President Lisa.”

“May I say a word as well?”

It was President Wei, who had been quietly listening all this time.

Judging by the way he kept wetting his lips, he clearly had plenty on his mind.

“President Wei, are you also interested in the legacy factories?”

“Yes. Leave the foundry plants to me. I’ll turn them into facilities with far greater productivity than what we have now.”

“Then let’s do this. Each of you will take one legacy factory. Analyze the pros and cons of your respective approaches, and whatever proves most effective, we’ll apply to the rest.”

Lisa and Wei exchanged glances.

Just a moment ago they had been colleagues. But now, they had become rivals.

From my perspective, I wasn’t sure this was really something to compete over—but clearly, the two presidents thought very differently.

“I’m requesting authority to use personnel from the affiliates!”

“I’m requesting a dedicated line for constant communication with Taewoo Construction!”

The two of them issued their demands simultaneously.

What had originally been nothing more than remodeling old semiconductor factories to generate variables was now beginning to show signs of transforming into a full-blown arena of competition.

***

A few days later.

Director Min-jung Chun came rushing to see me.

At first, I thought it was about the legacy semiconductor factories.

But judging by the urgency on her face, I could tell something else had happened.

“What’s the matter?”

“A large-scale hacking attempt has been detected. They’re simultaneously targeting not only Bitcoin exchanges but also companies holding massive amounts of Bitcoin.”

Bitcoin hacking wasn’t new.

Attempts had been ongoing for some time, but it was rare to see Director Cheon so agitated.

“So the scale must be huge.”

“They’ve successfully hacked Bitcoin at small- and mid-sized exchanges. While this doesn’t directly impact Bitcoin’s reliability, if situations like this continue, numerous problems could arise.”

One of the people who had created Bitcoin was Min-jung Chun.

She had made Bitcoin when she first joined Taewoo Group, which explained her deep attachment to it.

“From industrial spies to hacking—things really are chaotic. Is China behind this again?”

“At first, I suspected China as well, but analysis has confirmed it was the work of North Korea.”

A memory surfaced.

I had once read an article about North Korea earning huge profits through Bitcoin hacking.

They had chosen hacking as a new method to earn foreign currency, and from North Korea’s perspective, Bitcoin was like striking gold.

“Can we defend against the hacking?”

“For companies affiliated with us, defense is possible, but for smaller exchanges, there’s nothing we can do.”

Taewoo Group’s security was rock-solid.

The very people who had created the cryptocurrency were responsible for its protection.

And with a large team defending in real time, the probability of a breach was effectively zero.

But other companies couldn’t replicate our security systems.

“Can we provide anti-hacking systems to smaller exchanges as well?”

“We can provide the systems, but they still require skilled personnel to use them effectively.”

“Proceed with that for now.”

North Korea is targeting us?

If these attempts continue, I won’t just stand by and do nothing.