Chairman Choi of Asan Motors gazed at the distant sky and sank into thought once more.
Last night, too, he had dreamed of being electrocuted by an electric car... Nights like this had already gone on for months. Could Asan truly survive the era of electric vehicles?
-It’s not a personal request, but a management-related favor. May I say it?
Chairman Choi once again recalled the words of the pension fund official he had met a week ago.
He was a strange one. Recently, Asan Motors’ reserves had soared to 100 trillion won, and it was being hounded by various institutions and investors to open up its coffers.
But that man had asked him, on the contrary, not to open the coffers, had promised a capital increase, and had even promised to buy up all their bonds at rates that were practically interest-free.
“...”
He could not understand it.
Why offer such favorable terms and yet not demand so much as a single ten-won coin in return?
-Knock, knock.
Just as he was going over the same worries yet again, Director Jeong, whom he had sent on an errand, entered with a grave expression.
“How was it? Did you look into it?”
“Yes. I looked into it. MicroEnergy, a Silicon Valley startup founded seven years ago. It’s a company researching key electric vehicle components such as batteries and charging technology. However...”
“However?”
“That is as much as we could find out. It isn’t even a listed company.”
“What?”
“In truth, it is hard to even call it a company. After asking around, I found that it’s more like a strange group of eccentric engineers from MIT and Stanford doing something in a garage.”
“Is that really all?”
“There is one notable point. Ravian made them a merger offer, and they reportedly rejected it without even thinking it over.”
Chairman Choi pushed up his glasses.
Ravian was a Nasdaq-listed company with a market capitalization of 150 trillion won, focusing on electric pickup trucks and SUVs.
It was a company with a market cap three times higher than Asan Motors’, and they had rejected such a deep-pocketed patron with a single stroke... Just what sort of eccentrics were they?
“Why did they reject it without even thinking? Most Silicon Valley founders’ ultimate goal is to raise their company’s value and sell it to Big Tech.”
“There were two interpretations. One was that these eccentric bastards are too free-spirited and hate being controlled by an organization. The other was... and this seems to be the biggest reason, that they didn’t like the price.”
“Ravian is hardly the sort of company to offer pocket change.”
“Those bastards supposedly asked for ten times more.”
“Wh-what?”
“None of it has actually been confirmed. It really is a startup shrouded in secrecy.”
Strictly speaking, it was not a company shrouded in secrecy. It was one of countless startups in America, and Wall Street was not so idle that it would pay attention to each and every one of them.
Chairman Choi fell into thought again.
Other than having received an acquisition offer from a major corporation, there did not seem to be anything particularly unusual about it. So why had that young man asked him to acquire this company that day?
“With all due respect, Chairman, I think it would be best to turn down that person’s advice with some suitable excuse.”
“...”
“They rejected even Ravian’s acquisition offer. Do you think they would accept us reaching out? From what little I’ve heard, they are uncontrollable eccentrics who do not fit with organizational order at all. Frankly, Silicon Valley is full of startups these days babbling about secondary batteries without knowing their place. I think this is one of them.”
Chairman Choi replied.
“Look into it in more detail.”
“...Pardon?”
“Not vague rumors. Contact them directly and talk to them. Find out why they rejected Ravian’s offer, and if the reason was money, how much they want. Figure out everything you can and report back to me.”
Director Jeong sighed and said,
“Chairman. Are you really doing this because of what that youngster said? He’s a layman who looks like he couldn’t even change his own washer fluid, let alone understand electric cars. We cannot entrust a matter that concerns the company’s fate to a mere investor.”
“Director Jeong, by that logic, am I an automobile expert?”
“...Pardon?”
“According to the original succession structure, Asan Motors should have been my great-uncle’s company.”
Chairman Choi’s great-uncle, Choi Jeongsan, was once called Pony Jeong, the greatest automotive engineer in South Korea.
It was an era when there were no cars to speak of, let alone roads.
After assembling and disassembling foreign cars until he had practically memorized them, Pony Jeong created a car called the Pony, which was recorded as South Korea’s first domestically produced car exported to Ecuador.
But the world of management was harsh. Though he had been practically the founder, he was driven out of Asan Motors for certain reasons and had his management rights taken by his nephew. As a result, however, Asan Motors grew into a leading global corporation.
“Th-that wasn’t what I meant.”
“Enough. The pension fund increased its investment as promised, and it bought our bonds in the three-percent range. And I made a promise to that man. That all of this money would be invested in technology.”
“...I’m not saying we shouldn’t. But with that money, couldn’t we foster domestic engineers and achieve a technological leap?”
“He is not the sort of person who would introduce me to some worthless company. There must be something there, which is why he told me to make contact. For now, reach out and at least set up a meeting. That’s enough on this topic.”
As Director Jeong bowed his head and withdrew, the president of Giha Motors, who had unusually been sitting in on the meeting, carefully added,
“Chairman, I don’t believe Director Jeong meant it that way.”
“I know. I’ve been sensitive lately, too, so I was rather harsh on him.”
“...Chairman, you seem to put more weight on that young investor’s words than I expected. As Director Jeong said, he is a layman in this industry. Is there a special reason?”
Chairman Choi smiled bitterly.
“We could communicate.”
“Pardon?”
“All the politicians and investors I know are interested only in tearing down our coffers, but that man said he would stop them instead.”
“Are you saying he recognized your sincerity, Chairman?”
“That as well, but he seemed to understand the chicken game that will soon descend upon the electric vehicle industry. He also did not say the capital increase would end with this one time. He said that, if necessary, he would use the pension fund to put out the fires until we survived the chicken game.”
“But that is one thing, and technology is another, is it not? It does not change the fact that he is a layman in the industry.”
Chairman Choi looked out the window.
“That was why he said this to me. He said he did not know much about this industry, so he could not offer direct help, but he would open Korea’s rice market for us.”
“R-rice?”
“He said it indirectly, but he probably meant he would resolve the tariff issue on our cars.”
“I see...”
“A company recommended by such an investor likely has some reason behind it. Finding out what that is will be my homework.”
Having said that, Chairman Choi spoke with a resolute expression.
“President Kim. Let us move up the plan we were going to begin in ’35. To now.”
“P-pardon?”
“With 100 trillion won in internal reserves, and the pension fund’s promise of investment. With China staggering because of real estate, I believe now is the right time.”
“Y-you mean we should start first?”
“Yes. Industry forecasts say BYD will soon surpass Teslan’s market share. China’s market share must not rise any further. We cannot lose even the European market to BYD. Starting now, let’s lower our unit prices and attack Europe.”
The president of Giha Motors looked troubled.
“But... it will become an extremely costly battle of attrition. If we take an aggressive stance, they will not stand still either.”
“Sooner or later, we are destined to clash in the electric vehicle market, are we not? Fortunately, exports of internal combustion vehicles continue to be strong. We will use the money earned there to seize control of the electric vehicle market.”
“Our technological capabilities...”
“Were Xiaomi phones good from the beginning? They first forced their way into the market with low prices, then later raised their technological level. In truth, what I want right now is not to surpass BYD and Teslan tomorrow. I am saying we should at least maintain third place, like Xiaomi did.”
The president of Giha Motors raised no further objections.
Chairman Choi’s firm face said everything. He had made his decision.
“Understood. Then once the capital increase and technology discussions are all wrapped up, I will prepare a plan for attacking the global market.”
*
-My, my, you’re an even younger gentleman than I heard from Vice Chairman Nam. How old are you this year?
“Yes, I’m thirty-one.”
-Oh. To hold a responsible position at the pension fund at thirty. Assemblyman Seo, it seems we are not meeting an ordinary young man today.
-It certainly does. Hahaha.
Brizen Hotel, Seoul.
Assemblymen Seo Do-cheol and Kim Du-hyeong, whom I met through Nam Sang-gi’s arrangement, welcomed me with extremely bright expressions.
In truth, what reason would a pension fund investor have to meet men in power? When money and power meet, only bad things are discussed.
But despite the meeting being thick with impure intentions, the two men showed not the slightest wariness and warmly welcomed me.
It seemed they were plump, well-fed pigs into whom KD Group had truly put great effort.
-Well, I heard a certain amount through Vice Chairman Nam Sang-gi. They say you were a great help with KD Group’s succession structure?
“You flatter me.”
-Thanks to you, Vice Chairman Nam was able to focus only on technology instead of management, he said. In other words, Sejun, you have been a great strength to Korea’s national defense.
“If it helps national defense, I should do even more.”
-My, there’s a reason Vice Chairman Nam thinks so highly of you. I like that refreshing personality. Manager Lee, take a drink from me as well.
“Yes, sir.”
I mingled with them appropriately and made every effort to win their favor.
Seo Do-cheol and Kim Du-hyeong... The two were powerful enough to be called influential figures in the opposition party, and dozens of people had entered politics through their recommendations.
Those who had risen to prominence that way now occupied key leadership positions such as supreme council members, party council chairs, and secretariat officials. They were loyal organizations, so much so that it would not be wrong to call them the two men’s loudspeakers.
-Huh. You’re not interested in politics? This is quite unexpected. I thought you had come to ask for a nomination.
-Indeed. This is the first time someone has refused even when we offer a proportional representative seat or a nomination in a safe district. Or perhaps you want something bigger?
“No. Those positions are far too much for me to handle. I have no greed for them either.”
Like the professional politicians they were, the two men tested me dozens of times before finally believing my sincerity.
-Good. Well, since it truly seems you have no political ambitions, speak now. Why did you ask to meet us in person?
“Assemblyman Seo, Assemblyman Kim. At present, our domestic automobile market has fallen into a serious dilemma.”
-Not defense, but automobiles?
“Yes. Asan Motors has now risen to third place in global market share, but as the global community continues to push electric vehicles, it has been caught between a rock and a hard place.”
-We know what there is to know. In technology, we lag behind America; in price, we lag behind China, don’t we?
“Yes, that’s correct.”
-Even so, there have already been many voices saying next year’s R&D budget should be poured into automobiles rather than semiconductors. Is that what you want, by any chance? We were going to do it anyway, so I feel rather embarrassed accepting free drinks for that.
-Hahaha.
To the two men as they smiled, I spoke with a face devoid of any trace of laughter.
“That will not be enough... Please open the rice market.”