Chapter 70
Translator: Dreamscribe
“Look who it is. Isn’t it our land tycoon, Jung Jin-ho?”
“You heard about it too, hyung?”
“Is there anyone in Korea who doesn’t know that land prices in Dongtan are skyrocketing?”
Dongtan, once a sparsely populated area where cars barely passed by.
That place had suddenly turned into a dream city.
“So, did you sell the land?”
“No. Honestly, I wasn’t even paying attention to it. I was busy working.”
I hadn’t bought land in Dongtan for speculative purposes.
I was just looking for land to realize my dream, and if something struck my intuition, I went ahead and bought it.
That was my mistake.
I should’ve realized it when my intuition hit.
All I wanted was to quietly build a landmark where I could relax with my guild members and family, but I must’ve accidentally bought land in a prime spot.
“Hehe. They say lucky ones strike gold even when they fall backward. Wait, so you really bought the land with no speculative intent, just to build something?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Hyung, did you really think I had some connection to the current administration and intentionally speculated?”
“Well, the timing is too uncanny. How is it that all the land you bought turned into gold mines?”
It was more than enough to cause misunderstanding.
Fortunately, I had started purchasing land from January of last year.
“But didn’t you say you bought land somewhere else besides Dongtan?”
“Yes. I was looking for relatively quiet places not too far from Seoul……”
The main areas I had purchased land in were Dongtan, Hwaseong, and Giheung.
Quiet, sparsely populated places.
“How much did you put in?”
“All combined, I’d say around 50 billion won.”
“50 billion? What kind of land did you buy for 50 billion? Aren’t land prices in Hwaseong and Giheung cheap? No, wait. 50 billion isn’t that expensive for you anymore.”
My wealth had grown into the several hundreds of billions, and since I dealt with trillions at the company, I seemed to have lost my sense of the value of 50 billion won.
I had just bought land and figured I’d eventually build something on one of them and make it a landmark… and had neglected it complacently, which led to this mess.
“This is why people say real estate never loses in Korea. The land prices in Dongtan have already risen fivefold. That means a ton of stuff will be coming into the area around the building you’re currently working on, right?”
“The area where I own land is fine, but just a bit outside of it, apartments and commercial buildings are already gearing up for construction.”
Due to the development of the new Dongtan city, countless construction companies were struggling to break into the area.
The quiet Dongtan I had hoped for was now gone.
The land value had gone up, but rather than feeling good, it felt like something had been stolen from me.
“So what are you going to do? What about the building under construction? Are you just going to continue as is?”
“For now, I’ll finish the one that’s already being built. But I’m planning to revisit the Giheung and Hwaseong areas. Dongtan is soaring like crazy, but land prices in those two areas are actually going down.”
Since Giheung and Hwaseong had many factories, land prices there didn’t tend to rise much.
“But what if land prices over there shoot up like in Dongtan?”
I shook my head with a laugh.
That won’t happen.
***
“What? Rejected?”
“Yes. Kwangwoon rejected all the meeting proposals we submitted.”
Tony Hwang clutched his throbbing head.
NVIDIA, with a market cap of 60 billion dollars, had set aside its pride and reached out for a direct meeting.
But the response was rejection.
What did that mean?
“They really intend to go all the way with this, don’t they?”
Kwangwoon truly seemed to be planning to crush TSMC with this opportunity.
But do they really think that’s possible?
Even if TSMC collapses like that, do they really believe Kangseong can handle that overflowing demand alone?
“But it’s true that TSMC is in danger right now.”
“What is the Taiwanese government doing? TSMC is an incredibly important company to Taiwan too. Isn’t it a national industry?”
“It was, up until the last administration. The problem is that the current Taiwanese administration started off on the wrong foot with TSMC. This administration strongly rejects the One China policy. But TSMC, the supposed national representative company, sided with the Dragon Sea Alliance and contributed to the collapse of Taiwanese shipping.”
The Dragon Sea Alliance.
Those bastards were the problem from the start.
Kwangwoon Shipping, which was growing exponentially in size, had prompted Chinese conglomerates to band together in an attempt to suppress it, but they got too greedy.
It seemed they had tried to seize Tianjin Port and slowly sink Kwangwoon Shipping.
Perhaps a high-ranking Chinese official was backing Kwangwoon, because once this turned into a political battle, Tianjin Port was completely lost, and everyone involved was dragged off somewhere, their whereabouts unknown.
“It’s fine that the Dragon Sea Alliance was dismantled. But they should’ve cleaned up the mess properly. They started this whole business, and now they’re pretending it has nothing to do with them? And why did those TSMC bastards of all people have to partner with scum like that… tsk.”
That was the reason the current Taiwanese government had a poor view of TSMC.
TSMC had partnered with the Dragon Sea Alliance, which was deeply tied to the Chinese government, and in doing so had completely destroyed the remaining Taiwanese shipping companies.
And that snowball had rolled all the way to here.
“They dug their own grave.”
But it would be a disaster if they actually ended up in it.
They could manufacture and ship semiconductors, but since raw materials were barely getting imported, it had reached the point where making semiconductors at all was almost impossible.
The current administration should have stepped in to help, but instead they were engaged in a prideful standoff.
It was truly frustrating.
“There’s no other choice. Even if it’s costly, we’ll have to ship through Lusk.”
By now, it was not just necessity, it was a matter of pride.
It seemed like Kangseong was plotting to seize control of the foundry market by partnering with Kwangwoon, but there was no way this would be left alone.
On top of that, Tony Hwang had never held favorable feelings toward Korea. He might have tolerated TSMC dominating the market, but he would never accept Kangseong becoming a monopolist.
“In the end, this is a fight we’ll win with time.”
Sure, Kwangwoon might be dominating the shipping sector now.
But with time, that share would inevitably be taken away.
Especially since Lusk was lying in wait for a chance to snatch Kwangwoon’s market share.
They must’ve heard about the conflict, because they had already proposed separate contracts to both NVIDIA and TSMC. In other words, as time passed, it wasn’t Kangseong who would benefit.
“When this situation calms down, we’ll have to sever all remaining contracts with Kangseong as well. In the meantime, look into other companies. I want us ready to switch over immediately.”
Arrogant bastards.
But their days of throwing their weight around were numbered.
If we could ship through Lusk and ramp up semiconductor production, normalization would be achieved quickly.
“Let’s see if they come begging for a meeting then. See if I’ll even agree to one.”
You know how the saying goes.
Return grace twofold.
Revenge, tenfold!
***
The stock prices of semiconductor and graphics companies had been steadily soaring thanks to the Bitcoin craze.
But just when it looked like they would shoot off to Mars, prices suddenly began to swing wildly.
This wasn’t just the usual market correction.
“Anyone who’s in the know has figured it out by now. TSMC can’t produce, so no new graphic cards are being released.”
What had been quietly circulating among industry insiders was now common knowledge.
With the delay in new product launches and word spreading that even existing products could no longer be produced, stock prices were dropping.
“The crash was so alarming that Tony Hwang came out personally to issue a statement. He said they’re already working with Lusk Shipping to supply raw materials to TSMC, and that they’ll be producing semiconductor chips soon to normalize everything.”
Tony Hwang was clearly grinding his teeth.
It wasn’t just bluffing, he really was partnering with Lusk to supply all the raw materials that had been stuck, unable to reach TSMC.
“Tony Hwang harshly criticized both Kangseong and our Kwangwoon, saying we weren’t acting like gentlemen. The funny thing is, thanks to all the attention, Kangseong Electronics stock rose by 15% today.”
Tony Hwang had strongly condemned our two companies.
But it didn’t cause us any real damage.
If anything, Kangseong was actually benefiting from the situation.
“What about the others?”
“Just like NVIDIA, the rest are getting crushed. Tony Hwang’s public statement only made it worse. That’s because he said TSMC will prioritize semiconductor production for NVIDIA first with the new raw materials. No one knows when the others will get theirs now.”
As a result, just like NVIDIA, the $2 barrier on AMD’s stock price, highly dependent on TSMC, collapsed.
“At this rate, there’s a high chance it won’t even hold the $1 line. The problem is, if it gets worse from here, panic selling will continue, and then the exchange may suspend trading and proceed with a forced delisting.”
That would be troublesome.
No matter how much we might be eyeing the company at a bargain price, if it gets delisted, the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits.
“Since the stock keeps falling, we got word from the Saudis that they’ll sell off their entire stake if it drops below $1. Other institutional investors also seem eager to dump their shares as soon as possible.”
AMD was a company with a long history.
But at this point, it seemed like acquiring management control would only cost a few hundred billion won. That’s how financially broken the company was.
“There’s debt tied up in this company, and looking at its potential future, it’s far too lacking compared to NVIDIA. The CEO may be capable and innovative, but that might actually be a risk factor as well.”
“So, Department Head, you’re saying it’d be better not to acquire AMD?”
“Yes. Based on the data, that’s correct. But who am I to give advice on the CEO-nim’s investment decisions? I’m just reporting the indicators that are available.”
I had an eye for this too, and no matter how cheap AMD’s price seemed right now, I understood well enough that jumping into this would be suicide.
It wasn’t just a matter of acquiring the company; it was impossible to even predict how much capital would be needed after the acquisition.
Despite all that, my intuition wasn’t pulling me toward NVIDIA, it was pulling me strongly toward AMD.
And every time I looked at the profile photo of Lisa Woo, the CEO in charge of AMD, it was as if a massive aura radiated from behind her.
‘There’s no way I don’t invest at this point.’
So, despite my staff’s concerns, I made the decision to invest, trusting my intuition.
“What are the next agenda items?”
“Yes. Our exchange is doing so well that they say additional server expansion is necessary. We thought this financial regulation would suppress investor sentiment, but instead, even more people are flooding in.”
The growth of Bitcoin was terrifying.
After the Korean government cracked down with financial regulations and the Kimchi Premium seemed to vanish, it bounced right back as if nothing had happened and was now pushing to break new highs.
“…….”
I reviewed the documents sent from KW Exchange.
Server expansion, hiring more staff, implementation of a new system, UI convenience patch, and so on.
All were necessary actions.
As I was scanning through the agenda items.
“……?”
My eyes caught something.
[New Security System Introduction and Update]
At first, it was filled with red flags, and then a shape appeared, like demonic horns rising above it.
Startled, I quickly turned to the next page to read the details.
“…….”
The content was quite long and complex.
“You don’t really need to worry too much about that item. I think it was proposed as a preventive measure, but rebuilding the security system is more costly and complicated than expected.”
I wasn’t well-versed in this area, so I didn’t fully understand what the report was saying.
“Push everything else aside and prioritize this security update first.”
“What? Ah… Yes, sir.”
But one thing was clear, I could tell that a security update was urgently needed.
If something that creepy was manifesting from the system, it was reason enough.
***
NVIDIA’s counterattack was intense.
No wonder, it was a giant that dominated the graphics market.
Chairman Kang Sung-ho was starting to get the feeling that he might just be wasting both time and money at this point.
Especially since Lusk, ranked second in global shipping, had stepped in, giving TSMC a dramatic lifeline.
At this rate, it felt like neither fish nor fowl, an effort in vain.
But as the saying goes, heaven helps those who help themselves, and Korea is blessed.
“How’s the damage? Are we affected too?”
“Fortunately, there’s no major issue on the Kangseong side. This ransomware attack is mostly targeting Europe. A few of our employees’ computers were hit, but it hasn’t affected work.”
Last night.
A massive cyberattack targeting over 3 million computers in more than 150 countries had occurred.
The so-called WannaCry ransomware.
Once infected with this ransomware, users lose access to their computer files, and unless they send Bitcoin worth $1,000 to the hacker, the lock cannot be lifted.
As a result, companies infected by the WannaCry ransomware were hit one after another, leading to the leakage of confidential corporate files or complete system shutdowns, paralyzing operations.
“UK, Spain, Germany, Russia, China, Denmark, and so on. Cases of damage are continually being reported in various countries, and hackers are increasingly downloading the infected files from the internet and spreading them elsewhere, causing the damage to grow.”
“Tell all employees to be cautious. They should double- or triple-check before opening any files.”
“Yes. We’ve already issued an emergency notice. But Chairman, there’s an interesting rumor going around right now.”
A large-scale cyberterror attack.
What could possibly be amusing under such circumstances?
“The biggest damage so far has been in the UK and Denmark, but especially in one place where everything has come to a halt due to full ransomware infection.”
“Where is that?”
“Lusk.”
“Wait. Lusk? You mean that Lusk I know?”
“Yes. The same Lusk that teamed up with NVIDIA to push out Kangseong and Kwangwoon. Their system is now completely paralyzed, and they’re currently unable to carry out any transport operations.”
“!?”
What a stroke of luck.
Lusk had already been a major issue, and now faceless hackers had essentially come to Kangseong’s aid.
“But Chairman, isn’t the timing a bit too perfect? Of all times, this massive cyberterror attack happens just as Lusk is trying to execute a shipping operation in support of TSMC.”
“……What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Because of the recent events, all graphics and semiconductor-related stocks plummeted in price. Seizing that opportunity, Kwangwoon reportedly purchased a large amount of AMD shares.”
“AMD? Isn’t that the one people were saying might get delisted?”
“Yes. And yet, they’ve secured control of the company.”
Kangseong hadn’t orchestrated this to start a fight with NVIDIA.
The goal was to destroy TSMC and then attract its major clients over to their side.
Already, the strained relationship with NVIDIA was uncomfortable, but now Kwangwoon had gone and acquired AMD, its competitor.
“Not to mention, Kwangwoon, under the direction of CEO Jung Jin-ho, even launched a Bitcoin exchange. That move kicked off the Bitcoin boom here in our country.”
Up until now, Korean citizens had found it difficult to access cryptocurrency exchanges. Jung Jin-ho had opened a large-scale exchange, allowing the country to join the trend in full force.
“As a result, the semiconductor and graphics card sectors experienced a massive boom. That’s also why Kangseong is now needing to build a new semiconductor plant.”
The construction of semiconductor plants was also in line with the current administration’s vision.
Giheung and Hwaseong had been selected as an industrial belt, with plans to build industrial complexes there.
That was why Dongtan was selected as a new city and was undergoing large-scale development.
“But do you know who owns the lands we’ve been eyeing for this project?”
“……No way, right?”
“Just as you suspect, it’s CEO Jung Jin-ho. He began purchasing all the key lots there from early last year.”
“Huh.”
How the hell did he know to buy up those lands in advance?
Even Chairman Kang Sung-ho had only recently learned about the industrial belt project through discussions with the government.
“What does he plan to do with that land?”
“I originally thought he was purchasing land for a different purpose, but after seeing the AMD acquisition, I’m now certain. It seems CEO Jung Jin-ho intends to form a partnership with Kangseong, leveraging our technology and workforce to restructure the graphics market through AMD. If he builds a factory on that site, it would make it easier for him to receive our support.”
If Jung Jin-ho invested heavily in AMD and declared his intention to become a client of Kangseong, Chairman Kang Sung-ho would have no reason not to help him.
After all, the two companies didn’t overlap in their competitive sectors.
And the fact that he had already purchased land in advance suggested that this had been planned for quite some time.
“This ransomware incident, and now the AMD acquisition… When he first helped cut off TSMC’s maritime route and left them to dry, I thought he was simply trying to help Kangseong… But in truth, CEO Jung Jin-ho had a different goal all along.”
Only then did Chairman Kang Sung-ho start to see the puzzle pieces falling into place.
Jung Jin-ho hadn’t been targeting TSMC.
That was merely a minor stepping stone he trampled over.
The real target, the one whose head he intended to take, was over there in America.
“He was aiming for NVIDIA from the very beginning!”