Expectations for robotics had recently soared thanks to Asan Motors’ “Atlas,” but in truth, there were already fields where robots had taken over the industry.
Namely, the bio industry.
The “Da Vinci,” developed by the American company Intuitive, had rapidly dominated the field of “robotic surgery” with its three-dimensional imaging and tremor-free fine control.
In every respect, it was better than a human. If the incision for conventional laparoscopic surgery was one centimeter, Da Vinci’s incision was only half that.
Beyond that, it dramatically reduced the minor errors and mistakes that inevitably accompanied surgery performed by human hands. It was not complicated to operate, either; a skilled specialist could master it within a few dozen minutes.
With such excellent technology, it was only natural that demand overflowed... Intuitive, which currently monopolized this market, was known in the bio industry as a “super Eul,” and many companies had thrown down the gauntlet to get a share of this honey pot, only to all fall by the wayside.
“This is it.”
Domestic companies had not neglected R&D either.
Cellintrio, Korea’s largest bio company, had already been challenging this technology for several years.
But when I first saw the fruits of those years, I could not hide my disappointment. Just from its appearance, I could tell at a glance that this was not suited for ultra-precise medical surgery such as laparoscopy.
“It’s big...?”
“Yes. We still haven’t been able to miniaturize the auxiliary components.”
“How wide would you say the technological gap is compared to Da Vinci?”
“I’m ashamed to say this, but... there’s no point in comparing them. After numerous tests, our current technology was found to be worse than surgery performed directly by a human. The incision also has to be larger...”
It was a bitter sight, but I had to ask an even crueler question.
“Then how much money has been put into it so far?”
“Roughly twenty billion won...”
“And how much more will you invest going forward?”
“To be honest, it’s currently been halted.”
“Halted...? You’ve given up?”
“We held out this long as it is. Contrary to our initial expectations, it costs an astronomical amount of money. Development progress has been slow as well.”
I had nothing to say.
It is not easy for a midsized company to secure twenty billion won in investment funds. They had squeezed what little they had and spent four billion won every year, without fail, on R&D for five straight years.
If they were a conglomerate with overflowing internal reserves, I might have pressed them to keep going, but given their circumstances, even that was no easy matter.
Cellintrio had only been able to hold out this long because it was a rare blue-chip company on the KOSDAQ market.
“I see...”
I spoke while looking at Cellintrio’s “Da Vinci,” on which a faint layer of dust had settled.
“CEO, let’s say... hypothetically.”
“Yes.”
“If this surgical machine succeeds, what kind of return would it bring?”
“Are you asking about projected sales?”
When I nodded, he gave a bitter smile.
“Then Cellintrio’s stock price would at least double.”
“That much?”
“What more needs to be said? Intuitive, which currently monopolizes the market, has annual sales of about 3.5 trillion won in Korean currency. That’s similar to Cellintrio’s revenue.”
“They’re raking in money.”
Lee Jeong-seop stroked the failed prototype as he continued.
“They have no choice but to. Da Vinci is expensive to purchase, but its maintenance costs are even more expensive. A machine worth four billion won only has a one-year warranty, and after that, you have to buy and install all the parts yourself.”
“That’s harsh. Even cars come with a three-year warranty, but this only gets one year?”
“And yet hospitals line up to buy it. It’s simple to operate, and it even reduces surgical errors, so how could they possibly not buy it? On top of that, when surgery is done with Da Vinci, the incision is smaller, so recovery is faster. Naturally, patients line up too.”
“Is demand that high?”
“Yes. At present, Da Vinci laparoscopic surgery isn’t covered by national health insurance, but people still schedule dates and wait their turn. It’s gotten to the point where insurance companies are adding robotic surgery riders these days. Among cancer insurance policies coming out lately, I doubt there are any without a robot rider.”
“Then the market must be endless.”
“Of course. Honestly, we expect robotic surgery will soon be covered by national health insurance as well. Of course, private medical expense insurance can already cover it, but there are considerable restrictions on the number of times and the treatment methods, you see? But if national health insurance is applied on top of that? The market size would be beyond estimation...”
Looking at the data from the past twenty years, the pros and cons of robotic surgery had now become clear.
Except for being expensive, everything about it was an advantage.
With minimally invasive surgery, scarring and pain are reduced, complications are fewer, and the speed of returning to daily life is faster. This is especially essential for severely ill patients, such as cancer patients, or those with chronic diseases, and as a result, demand for robotic surgery is already exploding among the public.
“...”
I smiled bitterly.
He was right. If my memory was correct, when Korea’s national health insurance coverage expanded to include robotic surgery, Da Vinci’s sales exploded severalfold in Korea alone.
“But... what does any of that matter? We can’t even bring ourselves to attempt it. In fact, the robotic surgery field is a market that not only we, but bio companies all over the world are rushing into. But Intuitive’s technology is so advanced that it’s difficult to break their monopoly.”
I asked him.
“Then how far has your technology progressed so far?”
He thought for a moment before speaking.
“Robotic surgery doesn’t end with simply making something move. It has to be accompanied by high-resolution monitoring technology and ultra-precise control technology. Still, after investing nearly twenty billion won recently, we raised our technology to the third generation... but Da Vinci is fifth-generation technology.”
“Even so, if the gap is two generations, have you caught up quite a bit?”
“Well, we’re better off than twenty years ago when Da Vinci was first introduced. But a two-generation gap is practically the difference between a machine gun and a matchlock. To catch up, we still have a long way...”
“How much would you need?”
“...Pardon?”
“If you’re better off than twenty years ago, that means you’re still catching up, doesn’t it? How much more time and effort would it take?”
Though flustered, he asked me with an expectant look.
“T-Team Leader, are you perhaps saying the pension fund will invest?”
“We won’t be investing directly. I’m considering including it in the National Growth Portfolio.”
“R-Really?”
“Nothing is confirmed. I’m saying I’ll make the proposal.”
“R-Right. The growth fund should invest in companies with potential.”
“So please tell me the exact reality. How much money and time would be needed to break Da Vinci’s monopoly?”
He fell into deep thought for a while.
Many thoughts must have been running through his head. If he named an absurd amount of money, it was obvious they would be dropped from the portfolio, but he also could not make a promise he could not keep.
“This is difficult. It’s practically a business we’d abandoned, so I hadn’t thought about the future... Team Leader, would it be impossible to use the funds for other R&D? We’re lacking in robotics, but we’re truly confident in the biosimilar field. Following Remsima, Zymfentra has landed in the American market...”
“Discovering new growth engines.”
“...Pardon?”
“That is the theme of this National Growth Fund. For the businesses you’re already good at, reinvest your operating profits into R&D. What we want is the next source of growth for our companies. It has to be robotic surgery.”
He fell into thought again.
After a long silence, he opened his mouth.
*
“It must be hard working with people still in active service after so long.”
“Not at all. If anything, it reminds me of my younger days and gives me even more energy. Haha.”
“Come to think of it, I’m late in saying this. Director Park. You could have felt slighted, if you wanted to, but thank you for readily joining our Growth Fund TF. No matter how I looked around, you were the only person who could take on such an important role.”
“Not at all. I’m simply grateful that you’ve given a retired man such an opportunity.”
The prime minister’s official residence.
Lee Chan-ho separately called in Director Park Seong-cheol for tea.
Park Seong-cheol’s face was stained with tension as he raised his teacup. As of today, it had been three weeks since the TF launched. By now, a draft of the portfolio should have been out, but there was no result.
There was no way politicians with ninth-dan instincts would be unaware of the power struggles within the TF.
This meeting today was surely one meant for reprimand.
“Director Park, it seems this TF has gathered many people with strong personalities. From what I’ve heard here and there, coordinating opinions hasn’t been easy.”
“I apologize. Investors tend to be stubborn by nature, don’t they? Even so, as the head of the TF, I should have mediated well... but my abilities fell short.”
“Not at all. A meeting with diverse opinions like this is better than one where everyone agrees unanimously. However, there is one thing.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll soon have to report to the Blue House, and I don’t know whose tune to dance to. I asked you here because I wanted to hear your personal opinion, Director.”
After saying that, Lee Chan-ho placed two reports on the table.
“These are reports that came up to me at the exact same time on the exact same day. One is a report delivered by our party leader. The other is a report submitted by someone very close to me.”
“I see. Were their contents different?”
“Completely different. One says we should focus on yield; the other says we should discover next-generation growth engines... Goodness, neither side is wrong, so I don’t know which one to follow.”
Park Seong-cheol could guess who had submitted the reports without even hearing it.
The profit plan would be from Director Choi Ho-yeong, and the growth-engine plan would be from Lee Se-jun.
“Were there such differences of opinion internally as well?”
“The two sides have been sharply opposed... but I didn’t know they would even mobilize outside connections.”
“It’s all right. It’s not a question with a right answer, so they must have wanted to press their case even through outside connections.”
“It’s my role to coordinate that, but truly, I don’t know where to set my eyes.”
“No. If anything, I’m secretly relieved that the meetings seem to be intense. And the reason I asked to see you separately today is because I wanted to hear your personal opinion.”
Lee Chan-ho set down his teacup and picked up the profit plan.
“Personally, this is quite attractive. It’s a fund led by the government in name and fact, so its rate of return can’t be far lower than what the public expects, can it?”
“Yes.”
“Looking at past government fund cases, the one that earned the most money was, as expected, the Materials, Parts, and Equipment Fund that invested heavily in semiconductors. Well, even to me, a complete outsider to the industry, the prospects for Korean semiconductors seem quite bright. What do you think, Director?”
Park Seong-cheol set down his teacup and smiled bitterly.
“Prime Minister... only a few years ago, semiconductors were in a slump. Then how long will this semiconductor cycle last this time?”
“Hmm... As expected, you believe the next growth engine is more important?”
“The fellow who wrote that report once said this to me back when I was director. He said that now, we should use the money earned from semiconductors to find other sources of growth.”
Park Seong-cheol spoke with a calm expression.
“Even if we have to give up some returns, I do not believe the Growth Fund should be concentrated on semiconductors.”