Chapter 120: A-ple

“C… Could it be that you sent the email?”

-I didn’t send it, but their investment proposal aligns with our interests.

Every word was deliberate.

It wasn’t ‘support’ or ‘direct investment.’

It was a clear implication that they wouldn’t expose any official connection.

“Why are you helping us? We’re not even a subsidiary of Dojin……”

-That’s precisely why I reached out. And we’re not looking to acquire NeoChips. We just need a partner to ensure the stable production of the Quantum.

After a long silence, Representative Choi Moon-sik quietly spoke up.

“……What are the terms?”

-Proceed as SafeBridge proposed. They won’t interfere with your management, and retaining the current leadership after the investment is the basic premise.

“If Ahsung finds out that I accepted your proposal, they won’t just sit back.”

-You don’t have to worry about that. There’s nothing they can do.

With NeoChips’ liquidity issues completely resolved,

what more could Ahsung possibly do?

My persuasion seemed to work.

Without much hesitation, Representative Choi Moon-sik accepted the proposal on the spot,

and I immediately initiated the support process for NeoChips.

And the next day,

most domestic media outlets released breaking news about NeoChips.

[Breaking News] US-based private equity fund SafeBridge Capital makes emergency investment in NeoChips.

-Injects approximately 380 billion won to resolve liquidity crisis.

-Restructuring consulting alongside retention of all executives.

-Removed from FIU audit list…… Early repayment of loan principal completed.

-Termination of transactions with key raw material supplier ‘Ace Silicon’ and securing alternative materials.

＊＊＊

“Is the MPS module issue now completely resolved?”

In response to my question, Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki cautiously spoke up.

“Regarding the SafeBridge Capital matter, could it be…… that you were behind it, sir?”

“Yes.”

At the short but clear answer, Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki’s eyes widened.

“You mean you directly orchestrated SafeBridge?”

“To be precise, I didn’t directly put my name on it. However, it’s true that SafeBridge is a restructuring fund acquired by DJ Capital from the Akron group.”

Executive Director Oh Seong-hak was equally astonished.

“Dojin Capital……”

“Not Dojin Capital, but DJ Capital.”

While we’ve been casually calling it Dojin Capital,

the official name is DJ Capital,

and that’s what it’s called on Wall Street.

Thanks to that, Ahsung still hasn’t caught on that DJ Capital is connected to me.

“Anyway…… you’re saying DJ Capital has grown that much? From what I remember, the initial capital was only about 100 billion won……”

The initial funds I invested were indeed around that amount,

but I multiplied that money like a cornucopia,

sending $3.5 billion in the first round

and $2 billion in the second round here.

And now, on top of that, I’ve invested 380 billion won in NeoChips, so it’s no wonder Executive Director Oh Seong-hak was surprised.

“I’ll address your curiosity later, but for now, let’s talk about the MPS module issue.”

As I shifted the topic, Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki continued his report.

“With NeoChips’ liquidity issues fully resolved, the MPS module production line is back to normal operation, and deliveries are expected to normalize by the end of this week.”

“Good. Then it’s time for us to counterattack, isn’t it?”

At the mention of counterattack, Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki looked startled and asked,

“Counterattack?”

“We can’t just keep taking hits, can we? My motto is ‘payback in full.’”

I gave a meaningful smile.

“You don’t mean…… that you won’t supply MPS modules to Ahsung?”

“Bingo. After all, Ahsung will need MPS modules to manufacture the Titan, so let’s take this opportunity to completely crush the Titan’s roots.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. I’m all for it!”

Seong-hwan even clapped his hands in agreement with my decision.

However, Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki still looked worried.

“While that would be good for us, it would put a significant burden on NeoChips.”

“Are you concerned about NeoChips’ revenue?”

“Exactly.”

Until recently, there would have been no reason for Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki to worry,

but now that he knows NeoChips is essentially mine, he couldn’t be at ease.

“As you know, sir, MPS modules aren’t just used in smartphones but also in some feature phones, so if we stop supplying them, it will significantly impact NeoChips’ revenue.”

NeoChips’ annual revenue is roughly 1.2 trillion won.

About 40% of that comes from Ahsung,

so it would indeed be a burden for NeoChips.

But……

“Now is not the time to worry about short-term gains and losses.”

Seong-hwan nodded vigorously in agreement.

“I feel the same way. Right now, our top priority is to firmly suppress Ahsung and prevent them from gaining a foothold in the smartphone market.”

Having used smartphones directly for the past few months, Seong-hwan was now convinced that smartphones are the future of the mobile market.

Moreover, having heard from me about the additional features that will be added to smartphones,

his judgment seemed to be that they could afford a short-term hit to NeoChips’ revenue.

Then, Chilbong chimed in.

“Even if Ahsung can’t get MPS modules, they’ll likely be able to develop their own MPS modules soon.”

“Develop their own? What do you mean?”

Chilbong turned his laptop to show the screen.

“This data was discovered during an internal security check at NeoChips. It includes access times, user IDs, and a list of copied files.”

Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki leaned in urgently to examine the screen.

“Is this…… a blueprint?”

“Specifically, it’s Blueprint Version 2.3, which contains the current staggering correction algorithm for the MPS module. This was classified as top-secret within NeoChips.”

“So, this was leaked?”

“Yes, it seems Ahsung took it during the audit process under the pretext of requesting a backup copy for preservation.”

Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki frowned.

“Backup? Isn’t that the process of temporarily copying original data to an external hard drive for internal storage?”

Chilbong nodded.

“Correct. During external audits or financial institution inspections, some sensitive technical data is temporarily moved to external equipment and ‘preserved’ with the same structure as the original. In principle, that equipment should be disconnected from the network, and external removal is prohibited.”

“So, you’re saying Ahsung took it out?”

“Among the equipment listed as recovered immediately after the audit, one device containing this blueprint was not logged as recovered. It wasn’t disconnected from the network either.”

Chilbong paused, his expression turning grave.

“With Ahsung’s development capabilities, they could produce a similar MPS module within 2-3 months based on that data.”

I nodded in agreement.

“With NeoChips’ internal data and Ahsung’s technical prowess, it’s certainly possible.”

“That means the Titan could come back, doesn’t it?”

Seong-hwan looked at me with concern.

They were certainly not an easy opponent.

“Even so, 2-3 months is enough time for us to establish ourselves.”

As I’ve said repeatedly, in today’s smartphone market, it’s all about who gets there first,

and in that regard, I’m currently leading the pack with A-ple.

＊＊＊

[Titan 2 Release Indefinitely Postponed, Ahsung Electronics’ Smartphone Business in ‘Red Alert’]

The breaking news headline was prominently displayed on the large screen in the conference room.

“Sir, it seems the market dynamics are now firmly set.”

Seong-hwan exclaimed with a pleased expression.

Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki added further explanation.

“Production of the Titan 1 has been completely halted as of last week, and the release of the Titan 2 has been delayed by at least four months due to MPS module supply issues.”

“At this rate, Ahsung is completely out of the smartphone market, isn’t it?”

At Han Yu-ju’s words, I shook my head.

“Ahsung won’t give up that easily. Chairman Cheon can’t possibly be unaware of the future of the smartphone market.”

So, we needed to maximize the gap while we had the time.

I turned to Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki.

“How are the Quantum sales trending?”

“We’ve far exceeded the initial target of 200,000 units per month. Last week alone, over 500,000 units were sold, and this week, we’re likely to sell over 600,000 units.”

At 600,000 units per week, that’s 2.4 million units per month.

Annually, that’s nearly 30 million units.

However, realistically, maintaining that momentum is unlikely.

“Sales will drop soon.”

At my words, Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki nodded in agreement.

“While we’ve achieved a 60% market share in the domestic smartphone market, the Quantum 1-S definitely has its limits.”

It meant that most consumers with purchasing power had already bought the Quantum.

Lee Hye-ryeong added,

“Even if there’s more demand, our current production capacity can’t keep up.”

To expand sales beyond domestic to international markets, increasing production capacity was the top priority.

“Report on the status of the new production line expansion at the Dongtan corporation.”

At my instruction, Executive Vice President Hong Chung-ki displayed the data on the screen.

“The new production line being expanded at the Dongtan corporation currently has a maximum monthly production capacity of approximately 1 million units. Combined with existing production, we can produce about 3 million units per month.”

While sufficient to meet domestic demand,

it was far from enough to achieve my goal of becoming the number one smartphone manufacturer globally.

Seong-hwan provided an additional update.

“Thanks to the PC versions of KTalk and Ani-pung, interest in the Quantum is exploding overseas. We’re receiving a flood of orders from the UK, Germany, France, and even North America.”

“How many orders are we talking about?”

Seong-hwan flipped through the documents on the table and answered,

“Right now, it’s about 1 million units per month. But given the momentum, it’s likely to increase sharply.”

I felt the same way.

To handle the influx, we needed to secure a production capacity of at least 5 million units per month by the end of this year and expand to 10 million units by next year.

‘With global smartphone shipments expected to reach about 1.3 billion units…… we need to secure a final capacity of 400-500 million units annually before that.’

Of course, securing the land is one issue,

but the massive investment of trillions of won made it a difficult goal to achieve in the short term.

I turned to Executive Director Oh Seong-hak.

“For now, we need to handle the incoming demand as best we can. Redirect all revenue from product sales to expanding production capacity for the time being.”

“Understood.”

As Executive Director Oh Seong-hak acknowledged, I was about to conclude the meeting

when the secretary rushed over with an urgent expression.

“There’s a call from A-ple. Steve Nops wants to speak with you directly, sir.”

Steve Nops, the head of A-ple, was far too famous to be unknown.