Investor That Can See The Future

Chapter 379

I asked Chairman Im Jin-yong to collect the businessmen who were affected by the Japanese sanctions.

Not only the FKI, which is a representative management organization, but also the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses, and the Korea Employers Federation, etc.

Some even returned home in haste from abroad. That is why we are taking this situation seriously.

The location was decided at the FKI Hall. Although it was created for Korea’s economic growth and corporate development, it is a fact that everyone knows that the Federation of Korean Industries is an organization that represents the interests of the chaebols.

The first FKI Hall I visited was large and beautiful. What the hell are you doing here to make the building this big?

Following the guidance of the staff, I entered the conference hall.

Inside, people were already crowded. I’ve met businessmen from time to time, but this is the first time I’ve had such a large-scale meeting.

It’s amazing that so many of the leading businessmen have gathered at my word. Do you think the principal, who was collecting useless morning inquiries and collecting them in the children’s playground, felt like this?

The combined market cap of the companies gathered here is more than the GDP of any country. In front sat the CEOs of large corporations, who frequently showed their faces in the news. Among them, the presidents in and out of the prosecutor’s office in wheelchairs were also seen.

And the CEOs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were seated behind them. Although they are not comparable in size to large enterprises, SMEs are responsible for a significant proportion of manufacturing employment.

If these companies go out of business or go out of business, the economy of the working class will be shaken from the root.

As it was a conversation between businessmen, the media and politicians did not invite them separately.

The atmosphere was not very good. Even without speaking directly, I could see that there was a lot of dissatisfaction with me.

Although I worked, the OTK Company suffered little damage.

Although the number of FaceIt and Lost Fantasy subscribers decreased slightly due to worsening public opinion in Japan, it is insignificant in overall view.

There were no direct sanctions. Faceit is originally an American company, and OTK Games has recently moved its headquarters to the United States. You don’t want to touch Ronald’s heart by accidentally touching it.

On the other hand, from large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), an overall shock struck the Korean economy. In particular, companies that import core materials, parts, and machines from Japan have been hit hard.

I stood on the podium and spoke into the microphone.

“Hello, this is Jinhoo Kang. Thank you for gathering like this here. Let’s skip all formalities and get straight to the point. I think Japan’s sanctions will cause great harm and suffering to everyone. We need to understand the situation and come up with countermeasures, so please speak frankly without looking at anyone.”

First, the microphone went to the small business owners. At first, he hesitated, noticing, but when one or two people started talking first, the clay poured out.

“It happened so suddenly, we didn’t have time to stock up.”

“There will be a disruption in the delivery schedule right now.”

“Large companies may have enough funds and resources to survive, but small and medium-sized businesses like us are feeling the risk of going out of business.”

“After Chinese retaliation, Japanese retaliation is also attacked, so it tastes like death.”

“Every day is like a piece of thin ice.”

“The employees are very worried that the company is closing because of this, and the work efficiency is also declining.”

Although there are differences between companies and industries, they are serious.

Now that we have fully grasped the situation, it is time to take action. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups are also taking measures, but, as always, it takes time for the government to move.

I looked around the managers and said.

“Small and medium-sized enterprises are the root and support of Korean industry. First of all, I hope that large corporations, including OTK Company, will contribute funds to support SMEs and partners in difficulties.”

At my words, the faces of the heads of small and medium-sized enterprises brightened. The faces of the CEOs of large corporations were just that.

“Many of you in this room must have been through a similar situation in the past.”

Some older bosses noticed what I was talking about.

Imports of Japanese-made materials and parts have been blocked in the past. This is the IMF crisis.

As it is now, the Korean economy takes the form of processing trade in which raw materials, precision machinery, and core parts are imported, then assembled, processed, and sold.

However, due to the outbreak of the foreign exchange crisis, the seeds of the dollar in the government coffers dried up, and the exchange rate soared day by day. The price of imported materials and parts tripled due to the collapse of the won.

Numerous companies went bankrupt, and in order to survive, they had to find a way to survive. The only way to find out is through technology development.

Since they had no money to buy parts from abroad, they had no choice but to make them in Korea. It succeeded in localizing numerous core parts, and the technologies developed at this time became the driving force for economic recovery and corporate growth.

Then why didn’t you do it before then?

Of course it’s cheaper to buy. And it is the same now. Technology development takes time and costs a lot of money.

“Korean companies also need to develop their own technologies. How long are you going to depend on foreign countries for key parts?”

The world is already global and closely connected. It is neither possible nor inefficient to have to make all the parts in-house.

Even though the domestic market is small and it is inevitable to live on trade, it is a serious problem that the country is too dependent on imports and exports with Japan, China, and the United States.

Even a slight breeze blows the entire economy. The need to diversify imports and exports has been around for a long time, but everyone was left behind and faced serious difficulties when Japan imposed sanctions.

If it had been able to achieve some degree of self-sufficiency in this area, Japan would not have been able to take such sanctions.

“It’s good to compete with each other, but now is the time to collaborate. If companies in the same industry come together and jointly develop technology, the cost and time can be greatly reduced.”

Chairman Im Jin-yong said.

“Technology development may be effective in the long run, but it is not effective right now. If sanctions on the Japanese side are not lifted, it will be difficult to obtain key materials and parts for the next several years.”

Managers of other large corporations also said a word at a time.

“We are urgently contacting American and European companies to replace Japanese-made parts, but… … .”

“It is questionable whether the negotiation will respond properly in a situation where the deal is cut off.”

“The unit price is not right.”

“There are a lot of companies out there who give you outrageous quotes with the guts.”

If you negotiate while maintaining the existing customers, you can compete with each other on the delivery price, but you are trying to get the delivery unit price high as you know that this is a disappointing position.

I have thoughts on that too.

“I want individual companies to respond jointly rather than negotiating with each other. I will take responsibility. I will mobilize all the cards that OTK Company can use, such as self-driving electric vehicles, batteries, and TWRs, to support negotiations with Korean companies.”

A murmur spread throughout the conference hall.

I looked around the managers and said.

“I would like to create a task force for joint development and joint negotiations at this place. Those of you who want to join us, please do not hesitate to raise your hand.

Not a single one of the people gathered at my place raised their hands.

* * *

Not to mention Japan, Korea is also a world-renowned economic powerhouse. As the conflict between the two intensified, the whole world was interested.

Foreign media treated it as major news and sent out breaking news every day. Most of the experts were in the mood to support the Japanese side.

The reason is, of course, that Korea relies on Japan for core materials and parts, and the Japanese economy is larger. If both sides fight, the damage to Korea will inevitably be greater.

The reporters gathered at the FKI Hall talked about each other.

“Reporter Kim, what do you think the outcome of this meeting will be?”

“Why don’t you appeal the difficulties and urge the Korean government to take measures?”

“At least, they will ask the Japanese government to ease the sanctions.”

“Actually, the business interests of the management group come first.”

After a while, after the meeting was over, the chairman of the FKI announced the results of the meeting in front of reporters.

“… … Large corporations have decided to donate emergency funds to support small and medium-sized businesses in difficulties. In addition, we plan to reduce our dependence on Japanese materials and parts in the future by creating a development team for joint development of core parts and a response team for joint negotiations.”

Reporters were surprised when a completely different measure came out than expected. But this was only the beginning.

OTK Company distributed press releases to the inside and outside media, and breaking news immediately poured in.

[(Breaking News) OTK Company Announces Total Suspension of OTK Battery Supply to Japanese Electronics Companies!][Seoseong SB, Notice of Cancellation of OTK Battery Supply Contract][OTK Company Excludes Japanese Companies from Participating in Rosatom’s TWR Development and Construction! Future technical cooperation is also prohibited!][Jinhoo Kang, I have no intention of backing down until the Japanese government apologizes and compensates… … ]

* * *

The OTK battery developed by Professor Homin Kim revolutionized not only automobiles, but also the electronics and energy industries.

TS Company makes large batteries for automobiles, and Seoseong SB makes small batteries for electronic devices. It was first installed in Suseong Electronics’ high-end smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Using the OTK battery has more than doubled, but the charging time has been shortened. The response from consumers has been very positive, and demand has increased significantly.

Suseong Electronics took over and the remaining amount was supplied to American companies preferentially. This included both partners and competitors of Suseong Electronics such as NPL, MS, and Guble.

The reason why we rush to the US, where there are many competitors, is because if new technologies deteriorate the competitiveness of the US industry, the US cannot stand still. (So large-sized automobile batteries are also supplied to GM and Ford first).

The OTK Company and Suseong Group attributed all of this to President Ronald, who gave his thumbs up, praising the two companies in front of supporters.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)

Seoseong SB expanded its plant and increased production, and exported it to Japan, China, and Europe. But suddenly, a document was sent to a Japanese electronics company to cancel all supply contracts.

If either party unilaterally cancels the contract, compensation for damages or penalties will occur. However, in the case of OTK batteries, the disappointment was the receiving side, not the supplying side, so the penalty was not much, and Seoseong SB was willing to ask for it.

Representatives from Sony, Toshiba, and Canon came to the Suseong Group headquarters. They fiercely protested to Chairman Im Jin-yong at the seat.

“How could this be?”

“It’s been decades since I’ve done business with Seosung Group!”

“If the contract is unilaterally broken like this, which company will do business with Suseong Group?”

If the supply contract was canceled, both sides suffered losses, but it was not a big problem for Seoseong SB. This is because there are not one or two places waiting in line to receive the quantity. Again, as soon as the rumors spread that the contract with a Japanese company was cancelled, American and European companies rushed to place orders.

In fact, the problem is the image of unilaterally breaking the contract rather than monetary loss such as a penalty. Therefore, Chairman Im Jin-yong took a deep breath and blamed it all after Kang Jin-yong.

“CEO Kang Jin-hoo banned the export of OTK batteries to Japan, but what should we do? As you know, Seoseong SB only produces under a license from OTK Company.”

“Seeing that CEO Kang Jin-hoo joined the TF, didn’t Seoseong Group agree?”

Chairman Im Jin-yong jumped in embarrassment.

“Agree? We are the ones who suffer the most right now. The batteries they made are not even sent to Japan, so they are piled up in warehouses, and now they have to pay a penalty. Right now, because of CEO Kang Jin-hoo, our side is losing a lot of money.”

“Then Seosung Group should protest to OTK Company… … .”

Chairman Im Jin-yong tapped his chest as if frustrated.

“I don’t know if it was in the past, but now I don’t even pretend to listen to me. We are also in a position to be drawn to the words of representative Kang Jin-hoo. Not just me, but all companies. Which Korean companies can compete with OTK Company right now? I will be very mad.”

Chairman Lim Jin-yong vehemently criticized Kang Jin-hoo with Japanese officials as if he and the Seoseong group were also victims.

“It is an unavoidable situation, but since it is our responsibility, we will immediately pay the penalty for breaking the contract.”

The Japanese officials came to accuse them, and then they got stuck.

“The penalty is fine, so please resume delivery. Are you not familiar with the current situation in the Japanese electronics industry?”

“Without OTK batteries, the performance of Japanese electronic devices will inevitably lag behind.”

“Chairman, please talk to CEO Kang Jin-hoo.”

“The government is doing something, what’s wrong with us?”

“I would like to ask you a favor, thinking about your business relationship.”

Chairman Im Jin-yong nodded his head.

“That is correct. Aren’t you and I, and I’m not in a position where we’re avoiding the decisions we make at our own discretion? I will do my best to persuade CEO Kang Jin-hoo. I hope you all do your best to help the Japanese government ease the sanctions.”