“What does everyone think?”
Though Hynix had proudly put its name on the Sovereign Project, the faces of its executives were not bright.
It was already a monopolized market. Envidi’s 96% market share was an even higher figure than Microsoft’s, a level so far out of reach that latecomers could scarcely hope to catch up.
If the pension fund was offering a 10 trillion won investment, that surely meant headquarters would also have to make a corresponding investment... But was that truly possible? No matter how fervently they poured money in, if development failed, it would simply be money thrown away. Should they really accept this proposal?
As everyone remained silent, the vice chairman spoke first.
“...With all due respect, Chairman. Was this proposed only to us?”
“Of course not. We may be the first to receive the offer, but they’ll soon make the same proposal to Hoam Semiconductor as well.”
“Then isn’t the answer already decided...? If we reject the proposal, our share will be invested in Hoam Electronics too. I don’t think we have a choice.”
The president, who had been listening, shot up from his seat.
“That doesn’t mean we should bite without thinking! It’s madness! We have to refuse. Hoam Electronics will refuse too.”
“How do you know Hoam Electronics will refuse...?”
“They’ve been burned once. Would they let themselves be burned twice? It’s been five years since Hoam Electronics entered the foundry business, saying they would take TSMC’s bowl of rice. But far from taking it, haven’t they lost all their market share instead?”
Challenges are not always beautiful. Strictly speaking, only successful challenges are beautiful.
Back in 2019, Hoam Electronics had gone beyond memory, its core business, and set its sights on foundries as well, launching a massive offensive on the scale of 100 trillion won.
But it seemed to have ended in failure.
In the meantime, TSMC’s foundry market share had soared to 70%, while Hoam’s, once in the 20% range, had collapsed all the way to 7%.
To make matters worse, even DRAM, its core business, had been overtaken by Hynix... and the public was saying that Hoam had lost its tame rabbit while trying to catch a wild one.
“If Hoam Electronics had invested the money it spent on foundries into DRAM instead, Hynix wouldn’t have today’s results! We have to choose and focus. We are in no position to eye the GPU market right now.”
Starting with the president, the entire working-level line rose up like a swarm of bees.
“The president is right! Now is not the time to chase wild rabbits.”
“Recent results have been good, but who knows when DRAM market share might shift again? Investing in GPUs under these circumstances is absurd.”
“To be blunt, even American companies can’t catch up to Envidi’s technology. This isn’t a market you can take just by charging at it.”
Chairman Kim Jeongjin gave a bitter smile and leaned back in his chair.
Ten years ago, Taiwan’s technology had merely been irritating, but now it was frightening. Those bastards had thrown themselves into CPUs, GPUs, every market, every component, fighting as if their lives depended on it, and because of that, they had taken more than a few bowls of rice from others. Fortunately, amidst the misfortune, TSMC showed no signs of entering the DRAM or HBM markets, but no one knew how long that peace would last.
“Isn’t that something we’ll only know after we clash with them?”
After a long silence, when Kim Jeongjin finally opened his mouth, all the executives shot up from their seats.
“Chairman!”
Bang!
“President Park, you know, I’ve been hearing that ‘it can’t be done’ until my ears bled for twenty years.”
“...”
“DRAM can’t be done, NAND flash can’t be done, shut down the memory business, Hynix is where kids go after they fail their Hoam Semiconductor interviews... But who is it now? Who’s number one in the DRAM market and has HBM locked down tight? Is it Hynix or Hoam?”
“...”
“Is there anyone here who can deny the AI era? If there is, raise your hand right now! Because an idiot like that needs to be fired as soon as possible!”
As everyone fell silent, he cooled his anger and spoke.
“If none of you can deny it, why are you all opposing this? Are we going to keep saying memory, memory, for the rest of our lives? AI semiconductors all run on non-memory chips!”
He continued.
“Let’s do it. When the supercycle comes, let’s build seed money and invest in non-memory. If the pension fund invests 10 trillion won, at the very least, we can build the factories with government money. It’s fine if we can’t catch up to Envidi’s technology right away. Make a mass-market product people use because it’s cheap. Let’s go with the Xiaomi strategy.”
At Kim Jeongjin’s decisive gesture, no one could open their mouth.
Contrary to his bad public image, he had an extraordinary gambler’s temperament. In terms of sheer venomous grit, he was not lacking even compared to Jung Juyoung or Lee Byungchul.
Amid the unsettled atmosphere, the vice chairman spoke.
“Chairman, your words are absolutely right. If we are to leap into the non-memory sector, we will need many reforms as well. Truly, with the resolve to change everything except our wives and children, we will create a new Hynix.”
“No. That’s not enough.”
“Then...?”
“Change the wives and children too.”
“Pardon? Pardon? Pardon?”
“Wasn’t that already said thirty years ago? These days, you can’t survive with just that much! Without fundamental innovation, without a shift in thinking, things like that, you can’t survive!”
Kim Jeongjin rose from his seat, eyes blazing, and said,
“I’ll set the example myself. Truly, let’s change everything. From today on, Hynix’s future source of growth is non-memory!”
*
Living through an unknown future is truly a thing where excitement and tension coexist.
[Breaking News — Hynix Declares Entry into Non-Memory Sector!]
One day after the Sovereign Project ended.
Hynix announced its entry into non-memory semiconductors.
[Have They Forgotten Hoam’s Lesson? Drunk on Memory Market Share? Are They Turning Away from the Strategy of Choice and Focus?]
Naturally, the market reaction was not kind. It seemed people were reminded of Hoam, which had boldly entered the foundry business only to lose both the wild rabbit and the tame one.
Hynix’s stock price, which had risen by about 5% after being selected for Sovereign, quickly gave back its gains and even suffered a 10% drop.
Fortunately, thanks to the pension fund’s aggressive open-market buying and investment announcement, the stock price did recover, but many investors still reacted negatively to Hynix’s non-memory challenge.
“...”
In truth, I don’t know what will happen either. The future I knew was a world where Taiwan had a firm grip on non-memory hegemony.
Whenever Envidi’s market share seemed like it might collapse, AMD took its place. Whenever AMD’s market share seemed like it might collapse, TSMC took its place.
But would that future change this time? Would there unfold a future where GPUs made with Korea’s own technology led to success in AI development as well?
“...”
Who could know that? But one thing was certain. Those who only complain cannot change the world.
Having promised the same investment to Hoam Electronics as well, I couldn’t take my eyes off the monitor for even a single day as I scraped together seed money. Still, for now, I could only be grateful that the pension fund was able to provide that seed money.
“Hello, Prime Minister.”
One day, while buried in overwork like that, I made an appointment with Prime Minister Lee Chanho.
“Come in, Mr. Sejun. Haha.”
Lee Chanho, who used to shoot murderous intent at me whenever our eyes met, greeted me today with a generous smile.
“It’s good to see you today, Mr. Sejun.”
“Haha...”
“I’ve heard the gist of it. The pension fund’s investments in Hoam and Hynix were your work, were they not?”
The reason he was in a good mood was not because my face looked especially handsome today.
A week earlier, the pension fund had supplied ample war funds to support Hoam and Hynix’s declaration of entry into non-memory. Thanks to that investment, the two companies were able to build factories for free.
“Yes. I thought it was an important market. With the G2 locked in an AI contest, we can’t simply sit idle in the non-memory market. Of course, there will be many trials and errors, but I believe we have to make the attempt too.”
“That is a very admirable thought. In fact, even without that, the government had been deeply troubled over this Sovereign investment.”
“Yes.”
“Of course, no one in this world would say R&D isn’t important, but how could the government budget be poured only into scholars? Thanks to you, Mr. Sejun, we’ve greatly reduced our R&D burden, so today, I should be the one buying you a drink. Loosen your belt and eat as much as you like. Hahaha.”
“Thank you. I’ll pour you a glass first.”
As expected, kindness comes from a full granary.
Recently, the pension fund had disposed of overseas assets and bought heavily into the domestic stock market, and thanks to that, the KOSPI was already looking toward 4,000.
This, in turn, helped the government both directly and indirectly.
Strong economic indicators were naturally something to boast about, and with the pension fund providing war funds like a relief pitcher, they could also save considerably on the R&D budget.
There was no way Lee Chanho wouldn’t look upon me fondly.
“You have a glass too, Mr. Sejun. Ah, I like this. Let’s keep this relationship going for a long time.”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
I matched his mood and exchanged drinks with him.
Then, when the atmosphere had ripened to a certain degree, I carefully set down my glass and asked,
“With all due respect, Prime Minister. How are relations with China these days?”
“China?”
“Yes. I understand the government is also considering export diversification because of the tariffs from the United States... but I can’t quite get a read on its position regarding China.”
Lee Chanho set down his glass with an expression that said the taste of his liquor had gone bad.
“That side is still troublesome.”
“By troublesome, you mean...?”
“If we try pragmatic diplomacy while bowing our heads moderately, public sentiment won’t follow. But if we stick too closely to the United States, lately America has been doing things even China doesn’t do... Even now, people inside and outside the diplomatic sphere are already voicing concerns. After tariffs, the next issue will be defense cost-sharing. Will that really pass over quietly?”
That was not wrong. Recently, the Blue House’s statements had been growing gradually stronger.
The president had indirectly said, “Korea is also a country capable of self-reliant national defense,” and most experts interpreted it as a remark aimed at U.S. Forces Korea.
If my memory was correct, the president twenty years ago had said the same thing, and I remembered that at the time, he was branded anti-American and stoned by every level of society.
Compared to back then, however, the public reaction was surprisingly calm. In truth, America’s 350 billion dollars was basically a demand to hand over the National Pension. Because of that, public sentiment seemed to have reached the point of no return.
“Of course, we are considering export diversification too. But does that mean China can be trusted... That’s not the case either.”
“Yes...”
“But American protectionism doesn’t look like it will change easily. Honestly, whether it’s the Democrats or the Republicans, only the way they talk changes. They’re the same when it comes to shaking us down, aren’t they? Our diplomatic circle predicts that even if the Democrats take power next, they’ll maintain a reshoring policy like Bidon did.”
“I see.”
“But why do you ask?”
I smiled bitterly.
“Prime Minister. With China... would it be impossible to make a broad, magnanimous recovery in relations?”
“A broad recovery in relations?”
“Yes. As you said, America’s stance will not change easily. We need multiple channels as well. Because of that, we won’t be able to avoid public criticism, but I think it would be good if there were some kind of conciliatory measure that is absolutely necessary...”
Lee Chanho abruptly set down his cup, then asked me with a very cold face,
“Don’t tell me you’re talking about Victory Day.”