The 3th Generation of the Chaebol Wants to Live Quietly - Chapter 1142



Only Noblemtl

1142.

“Then, is that okay for Director Choi Min-hyeok?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come with me. I will protest to the Chairman myself.”

“…yes.”

***

Director Choi Min-hyeok’s goal was to grow the MP3 industry, and he wasn’t particularly interested in MP3 sales themselves.

He delayed the launch of his next generation MP3 product because of the flood of MP3 products that were coming out.

They did put a few on the market, but not in very large quantities.

Because of that, the fans were disappointed, but that was all.

At first glance, it may seem like a loss.

That wasn’t the case.

Because other companies thought differently.

Especially companies that absolutely need MP3, or MPEG2.

One of them was Nintendo.

They made full use of MP3 and MPEG-2 to target the game market worth 15 trillion won.

IPS-LCD was a must.

That’s why we carried out the development of MMP3 almost simultaneously with Sehan Information.

The development results were faster.

Color LCD.

The reaction was explosive.

The game industry itself was like Nintendo.

Other companies have seen this response as well.

It’s Sony.

I didn’t think Nintendo’s dominance would be shaken, so I took action.

It was Sisbell who raised the MP3, MPEG-2 royalty objection.

Nintendo isn’t stupid either, so they did sign a royalty contract.

However, it was a quantity-based contract.

The structure is such that royalties vary depending on the number of units sold: 1 million, 2 million, and 3 million.

Eventually, Shizbel stepped in. They sued Nintendo in a U.S. federal court, not a Japanese court. They even got an injunction to stop U.S. sales.

As Nintendo, we were just in the process of signing contracts and selling them off, and then all that was put on hold.

Thanks to this, it made headlines on CNN news in the United States.

[Patent Monster Sisbel Targets Nintendo!]

And major Korean media outlets also cited this article.

But it felt a little different from American news.

[The real owner of Sizbell is Director Choi Min-hyeok? Did Director Choi Min-hyeok end up bombing Nintendo?]

I had a lot of feelings built up because of the Han-Young Daily, so I showed my feelings openly.

It was total chaos.

Upon hearing this news, Chairman Choi Yong-wook called in the presidents of affiliated companies to discuss the matter.

But actually, there wasn’t really anything to discuss.

The bottom line is that what was meant to happen happened.

Because that’s what Plims did back then.

There are many people who are hesitant about Plims these days.

There has been much talk about whether Plims will become the next standard.

Even in the US and Europe, they are digging other holes.

“You always exceed my expectations.”

“… … .”

The few presidents of affiliated companies bowed their heads. They had to come forward to talk about Director Choi Min-hyeok’s misdeeds. Now, they have done that too much and it has had the opposite effect.

Chairman Choi Yong-wook was talking about the achievements of his grandson, Director Choi Min-hyeok, with a pleased expression on his face when he blankly stared at Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung, who had come inside.

Because what Vice President Choi Moon-kyung is saying is absurd.

The same goes for the presidents of affiliated companies.

Because it’s a problem with affiliate employees.

Even though the restructuring is over, there is still more left.

Of course, it was a problem that Director Choi Min-hyeok took them without permission.

He looked at Director Jang Seung-il.

“They already reached an agreement, right?”

Director Jang Seung-il spoke while keeping an eye on Chairman Choi Yong-wook.

“Most people are like that. But the situation is different for those in an ambiguous position. It is difficult to get a job at another company. But the atmosphere these days is not good for starting a personal business.”

It’s because of the local economic downturn.

There’s been a lot of bad news lately with local construction companies going under.

It was difficult to run a private business in these circumstances.

“But we already have enough… … .”

“Yes, I helped them enough. They know that. That’s why they didn’t get involved in things like the KCTU strike. But… … .”

yes.

What matters is the hell outside the company.

I couldn’t shake off that foolishness.

Chairman Choi Yong-wook ignored the excited Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung and heard from Director Jang Seung-il what Director Choi Min-hyeok was currently doing.

‘… I don’t quite understand.’

Most of them are in their late 30s or early to mid 40s.

It’s too late to get new education and do anything.

Chairman Choi Yong-wook said that he would look into it after hearing the protest from Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung, who was excited.

“Let’s talk about that later.”

***

There was no major problem with the fact that employees of affiliated companies, including Vice President Yoo Jin-soo, were protected by KM Electronics.

However, if Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung had personally stepped forward, there could have been some problems.

But it was a question of timing.

Because it has already been decided that he is no longer an employee of a KM Group affiliate.

Chairman Choi Yong-wook said he would look into it, but then kept his mouth shut when he learned the truth.

That’s because he noticed that Vice President Choi Moon-kyung was trying to find fault.

Director Yoo Jin-sik naturally knew about this. Vice President Choi Moon-kyung had suddenly sent down the official document.

[KM Group has decided to step forward for the future of the company’s employees.]

He instructed me to contact KM Group headquarters immediately.

Actually, they came to me from KM Group headquarters.

However, what they encountered was an empty affiliate building.

Manager Yoo Jin-sik smiled vainly and submitted the necessary documents.

All the documents, including the formal resignation letter. Then he wiped all these things out of his head. He blocked the KM Group headquarters phone number.

He knew that Vice Chairman Choi Moon-kyung was trying to use him for formality.

Of course, it’s not like I had no complaints about KM Electronics.

Because my salary was cut by about 30%.

But everything else wasn’t bad.

First of all, I was very satisfied with the cafeteria.

“It’s really delicious.”

Deputy Director Lee Dong-soo opened his mouth while eating his meal in a hurry.

“I heard that the cost of food ingredients exceeds ten thousand won.”

“… So, if you actually eat at a restaurant, it costs more than 20,000 won?”

“It will be more.”

The beef soup was generously filled with beef. The broth was so strong that it was rather awkward. This level of food quality is something you can only eat at home.

Thanks to this, the number of KM Group employees visiting the in-house restaurant has actually increased.

There was a line at a restaurant that could seat two hundred people at a time.

“… Two hundred people?”

Manager Yoo Jin-sik looked at the people standing in line with a puzzled look.

But there was a reason.

Among them, there was someone I knew.

“… Manager Kim?”

Manager Kim Chang-seop found Manager Yoo Jin-sik while carrying a plate full of food.

“Manager Yoo?”

Manager Yoo Jin-sik blankly stared at Manager Kim Chang-seop sitting across from him.

“… What brings you here? Didn’t you go to LC Electronics?”

“…I’m still on vacation.”

“That’s just a formality… … .”

But he also clicked his tongue when Manager Yoo Min-soo sat next to him and greeted him.

“Manager Yoo, you are at Oseong Electronics… … .”

“It’s the same. I haven’t submitted my resignation yet.”

It’s because of foolishness.

The two men made the transition easily thanks to their experience developing controllers at Optis.

However, he did not formally submit his resignation.

Moreover, since I had not yet officially joined the company, I had the opportunity.

Deputy Director Lee Dong-soo finally spoke.

“He called me yesterday, so I told him the truth.”

Only then did Manager Yoo Jin-sik understand the situation.

“But isn’t it okay if it’s LC electronics and O-Sung electronics?”

“Hey, you say that while watching the news?”

Even without that, the story of the patent troll Sisbel and his mastermind, Director Choi Min-hyeok, was on TV in the cafeteria every day. It was common for American patent trolls to do royalty business with Korean companies.

However, it was rare for a Korean person to engage in royalty business with a Japanese company.

That too, with US sales as a weapon.

“…but.”

Director Choi Min-hyeok didn’t just make money in an ordinary way. He hit on companies and sucked them up. That’s not a good thing, but on the other hand, it gives him a sense of vicarious satisfaction.

Manager Kim Chang-seop grumbled.

“I tried everything to get into KM Electronics, but there was no way. I waited for a chance after the Optis restructuring, and then the opportunity arose.”

“but…….”

“I know. The environment here is a bit strange. But they give you a chance. I thought that if I hung on here, there would be a way.”

“hmm.”

He clicked his tongue as he thought of Director Choi Min-hyeok again.

‘That’s really amazing.’

It wasn’t simply because of capital or investment.

The trust that the executives and employees had was amazing.

***

Director Choi Min-hyeok also snickered while watching the major media’s reactions to Sizbel. He will attack her at any opportunity.

But he didn’t really care about the story of Sizbel.

Rather, it focused more on KM electronic education.

It was started by Senior Vice President Kim Hyeon-woo.

Actually, he thought this was more important.

The purpose wasn’t simply to distribute it.

To be precise, the purpose was to create an app market ecosystem.

He called in Chief Choi Byung-yeon. Then he made the Nintendo story a priority. The important thing now was not the lawsuit story. It was the story of the next-generation game console they were releasing.

To be exact, the intention was not to destroy the gaming market.

It was an attempt to apply KM MP3.

Director Choi Byeong-yeon spoke as if he had been waiting for Director Choi Min-hyeok to speak.

“Fortunately, we have already completed development on our side.”

The MP3 player that Director Choi Byeong-yeon presented was similar in form to Sehan Electronics and Nintendo.

Of course, this is because the same IPS-LCD is used.

“However, Nintendo also seems to be having a lot of trouble with LCD yields. LC Electronics is doing its best, but there’s nothing they can do about the defects in the product itself.”

“Are you still lost? Isn’t Sehan Electronics already on sale?”

“There are more claims from Sehan Electronics than you might think. Nintendo is no exception. They have attracted a lot of attention from game enthusiasts thanks to their marketing and sales, but they still have a lot of problems.”

To be exact, it is because a large quantity was produced.

There were minor defects, many of which were ambiguous.

For example, there are problems with bad pixels or light leakage.

Because the size was small, the fundamental problem of initial quantity could not be solved even if something was done with the equipment.

Director Choi Min-hyeok chuckled.

“… As expected.”

However, Director Choi Byeong-yeon pointed out one point.

“It’s getting better now. In particular, next month’s production volume seems to have improved more than expected in terms of mass production. I think it’s because there’s Nintendo volume and demand from other MP3 player companies.”

As production volume increased, yields improved rapidly.

Director Choi Min-hyeok also did not anticipate this situation. He thought that it would take a little more time. However, the speed at which the MP3 ecosystem he created is developing easily exceeded his expectations.

In fact, even he himself could not have known this future.

Only then did he look at the MP3 player in front of him and say:

“How is the development environment? It seems like you put more effort into that area.”

Director Choi Byeong-yeon smiled brightly.

“Yes. That part has already been completed, and we are currently working on the next version. I will show you.”

***

Minhyuk Choi has been consistently working to create an MP3 player app ecosystem since its inception.

At first, no one understood Director Choi Min-hyeok’s intentions.

Instead, he looked at me with anxious eyes.

It was good for the company to profit by handing over the MP3 technology for a royalty fee.

However, the MP3 player production department was rather dissatisfied.

But even so, more capital was invested in efforts to develop MP3 apps.

This part was led by KMBOOK personnel.

A lot of investment was made in core technologies including compilers.

Fortunately, there were quite a few engineers like this in the United States.

Thanks to absorbing them, the development speed has been greatly accelerated.

They returned to KM Electronics and transferred technology while working together on technology development.

Of course, the company compensated me accordingly.

However, because this ecosystem itself did not fit with the domestic environment, many engineers were lost.

But none of them left the company.

It wasn’t just because of the salary I received.

It is thanks to the leadership of Director Choi Min-hyeok.