When I shared the threat(?) I had received from the pension fund with the executives, a long silence hung over the room.
But then someone broke the silence and raised his hand.
-We still can’t do it, Chairman.
Chairman Choi looked at him with an uneasy expression.
“He’s someone I can’t easily refuse. When our stock price hit rock bottom, he funded our R&D, and he persuaded the Blue House to loosen autonomous driving regulations.”
-That doesn’t mean it was charity, does it?
“...”
-We’re grateful for the bond purchase, which was practically interest-free, but the capital increase the pension fund invested in back then has already been returned several times over.
Asan Motors’ recent stock price was no ordinary matter, even though it had underperformed during the KOSPI 4,000 era.
Even as one global automaker after another went bankrupt, Asan Motors managed to defend its European market share, and its stock price began to soar.
Thanks to that, Asan Motors’ share price had already recovered its previous high and was setting new record highs every single day. The capital increase received from the pension fund had long since been paid back.
“With all due respect, Chairman, Executive Director Park is right about that.”
Chairman Choi subtly shifted his gaze, but even President Kim, his closest confidant, said the same thing.
“How long has it been since we recovered our market share, and now we’re talking about a new business? On top of that, isn’t this the very industry the pension fund is proposing one we’ve already had a bitter taste of?”
Occasional groans leaked out around the conference room.
Boston Automatic... It was certainly a decent company. It had been the hottest robotics startup in Silicon Valley, a company they had acquired after paying a staggering 1.1 billion dollars.
But the company that had seemed as though it might replace the labor union at any moment had done nothing but rack up deficits for years. In the end, with the initial acquisition cost and accumulated losses combined, it was already racing toward 1.2 trillion won.
“But we have to do it.”
When President Kim suddenly made a U-turn, everyone in the conference room was surprised.
“...What?”
“As you know, the union went on strike twice last year alone. Our market share has only just begun to recover, and bills are flying in from every direction.”
“President Kim... I’m sick of them too, but we’re not doing this just because we hate the union, are we? Right now, we’re considering the best choice for Asan’s better leap forward.”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying this. For a manufacturing company like an automaker, what better leap forward is there than lowering labor costs? Even if we experience more failures in the future, we must continue challenging ourselves with this automated process.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the working-level executives rose up in protest.
-President, please calm down. We’ve done well so far. How can we invest tens of billions just because we’re sick of union strikes?
“We already spent trillions acquiring Boston Auto. A few tens of billions is just a cup of water in the ocean.”
-That was exactly why the union went on strike last year. Their argument was that management spent trillions acquiring some random startup but refused to raise wages.
“Whether that money was random or not remains to be seen.”
-President, no matter what, considering our situation...
“Chairman, I’ll say just one thing. During the IMF crisis in ’98, Hoam and Hynix never restructured their semiconductor divisions until the very end. On the contrary, they increased investment. They didn’t just catch their breath; even when they were one step away from starving to death, they protected their seed industry.”
With those words, the conference room once again sank into silence.
It might seem obvious now, but thirty years ago, it was extremely strange for Korea to invest in a cutting-edge industry like semiconductors. To compare it to today, it would be like some blue-chip company suddenly investing in space development and announcing it would build a space station.
Back then, Korea was barely chasing Japan with budget strategies in electronics, mobile phones, and displays alike, so the idea of leading such an advanced industry could only sound absurd.
But as a result of protecting that seed industry, Korea was writing new myths in DRAM semiconductors day after day, and it had begun to emerge as a super-supplier company from which big tech firms lined up with waiting tickets to buy chips.
“Chairman... May I say something as well?”
While the atmosphere had grown solemn, Chief Technology Officer Yoo Jeongjin opened his mouth.
“Go ahead.”
“What I want to talk about isn’t money, but technology... This seems a little unusual.”
“What does?”
“The company report the pension fund handed over. To be honest, I’ve never heard of a company called ARG before, but if their production cost is really only this much, it’s at an absurd level.”
Chairman Choi’s eyebrows twitched.
“Absurd?”
“Yes. The Spot and Atlas models we’re developing have production costs at least four to five times higher. Even though we succeeded in a technological leap, that’s the biggest reason commercialization is still far off. Of course, the Speed2 model they developed here seems to have reduced the software and focused on the hardware... but with this level of durability and production cost, the parts cost would be low, and it could be used for a long period of time.”
“Is that such a big difference?”
“Yes. As for the insufficient software, we can simply integrate it. In fact, just as an AI development company can’t produce GPUs on its own, I believe the field of automation will eventually see division of labor and specialization. For example, big tech brains combining with other companies’ hardware.”
“Hmm...”
“From that perspective, this company report isn’t something we can simply pass over.”
At Yoo’s words, Chairman Choi looked down at the documents again.
If one stripped away the company name like a rank badge and compared only the numbers, there was definitely something strange about it.
The model ARG had unveiled was cheaper in cost than anything offered by any existing company. It hadn’t focused on software, but that didn’t mean it was a simple machine like a serving robot either. It had enough computing power to handle input algorithms sufficiently.
They said a robot at that level had overwhelming durability and would have no problem operating twenty-four hours a day, every day. If compared to a person, it was like a simple, stubborn farmhand who knew nothing of labor laws but possessed the strength of a mighty warrior.
“However, there is one thing that bothers me...”
“Bothers you?”
“To be honest, the company report is so good that I’m not sure what to think. It would be best to proceed carefully until we confirm it with our own eyes.”
Yoo left open the possibility that this report could be false.
The automobile industry was full of fraudsters. There had even been a history of someone rolling a truck down a hill and committing fraud by claiming they had invented a hydrogen car.
After falling into thought for a moment, Chairman Choi spoke.
“So you’re saying you want to verify it first?”
“Yes... From the standpoint of the company’s CTO—no, as a pure engineer—it’s a model I absolutely want to see in person.”
Chairman Choi checked the calendar.
“Good. There are exactly sixty days left until the Automate exhibition. Then I’ll put together a team, so will our technical team go and verify the technology?”
“If you entrust it to me, I’ll do my utmost.”
Yoo responded brightly, but the management team once again looked troubled.
-Chairman, if the technology is confirmed, are you planning to invest?
-No matter how you look at it, it’s too much money.
-We can’t even clean up the businesses we’ve already started, and if we say we’ll invest again, the backlash from shareholders, not to mention the union, won’t be easy.
“Enough.”
Chairman Choi rose from his seat with a look of resolve.
“I’m sick and tired of it now. Teslan for technology, BYD for price, and Asan Motors stuck somewhere in the middle. The domestic public is practically desperate to tear me apart.”
-...
“We’ve only barely recovered our market share, and BYD’s low-price offensive isn’t over yet. Robotics is fate for manufacturers like us. Even if the deficits get worse from here on, we will invest more.”
*
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, CTO. I’m Lee Sejun from the pension fund’s risk team.”
“Yes, I’ve heard a great deal about you, Team Leader. I’m Yoo Jeongjin, CTO of Asan Motors. I look forward to working with you during the schedule!”
Yoo Jeongjin, whom I met at Incheon Airport, reached out to shake my hand with a bright expression.
After two weeks of deliberation, Chairman Choi had made a very difficult decision. He mobilized all the key members of the company’s technical team and booked plane tickets to Silicon Valley, which meant he had also left open the possibility of acquiring a stake.
After I finished exchanging greetings with Asan Motors’ technical team, Yoo Jeongjin asked me,
“By the way, Team Leader. Where did you get this information?”
“What information?”
“ARG’s internal materials. To be honest, it’s such an unknown company that our internal intelligence team was fully mobilized to track it down. But no matter what newsletters we looked through, we couldn’t verify the materials you gave us.”
I scratched my head.
Of course, this kind of material wouldn’t exist in outside newsletters. It had been disguised as a company report, but in truth, every bit of it was a document I had made by dressing things up to look plausible.
Forty days before the Automate exhibition.
ARG was still one of countless startups that had yet to stand out in the industry, and it was a company suffering from the chronic funding difficulties common to startups. Naturally, there would be no Wall Street newsletter paying attention to such a company.
“It’s ARG’s own report. Of course, we verified it through several channels.”
“If it was verified, there’s no way rumors wouldn’t have spread... Where did you verify it?”
“There’s a newsletter that only circulates quietly among investors in the know. If it circulates in the shadows, it’s gossip; if it circulates in the open, it’s intelligence? That’s as much as I can tell you.”
“Ah, so it’s confidential material. Understood.”
I was extremely pleased by his reaction, showing such interest in ARG.
“But why do you ask? Were ARG’s materials that good?”
“More than good. To be honest, the internal meeting was full of opposition, so I couldn’t speak too strongly, but the moment I saw the report, I wanted to head straight to Silicon Valley.”
“As expected, you recognized it. The durability is remarkable, isn’t it?”
“Durability aside, I’m more curious how on earth this production cost is possible. Automobiles are different from semiconductors, so they don’t require ultra-high-precision processes. Even if it’s rough around the edges, the best worker is one that works diligently. To think they can churn out such workers as much as they want... I truly can’t believe it until I see it.”
Unable to contain his excitement, he glanced at me.
“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying I don’t trust your report, Team Leader.”
“It’s fine. I’m happy just knowing we seem to have discovered such an incredible company. But CTO, you said there’s more opposition within Asan Motors right now?”
“Yes... Well, to be honest. You know, don’t you? Since Boston Auto, trillions of won have gone into R&D. But commercialization is out of the question, and the accumulated deficit alone has already reached hundreds of billions, so everyone is exhausted.”
In truth, Boston Auto had been a controversial company from the acquisition stage.
The company’s original owner had been Gogul, then it passed to SoftBank in 2017, and only around 2021 did it come into Asan Motors’ hands.
That was why there had been many rumors from the moment of acquisition.
If it were truly a profitable business, Gogul and SoftBank were companies that could endure decades of losses, but they resold it only a few years after acquiring it. Naturally, many doubts arose about the company’s prospects. And just as the public had feared, it required a very long period of pouring investment into what seemed like a bottomless pit.
“Don’t worry. Asan Motors’ challenge toward robotics was never wrong. I’m certain ARG will become your wings.”
Just as I offered him those encouraging words with a pleasant expression, I received a call from Department Head Oh.
I hesitated slightly. Why would someone who had directly and indirectly expressed that he didn’t want to invest in a robotics company call right before we boarded the plane? Surely he wasn’t ordering us to come back?
“Yes, hello—”
-Hey, Team Leader Lee, you’d better hurry.
“Pardon?”
-We just received an official letter from ARG. They said they sent the same materials they sent us to Teslan too. Looks like these bastards are testing the waters, doesn’t it?
I shot up from my seat and cried out in shock.
“R-Really?!”