Chapter 139: 200,000 Pyeong
The screen displayed the next page of the presentation.
“The fourth monetization model is the Lunar payment service and fintech platform.”
Han Yu-ju pointed to the payment platform model on the screen and continued her explanation.
“First, we plan to integrate all transactions from Pang Pang Mall and the Lunar App Store into Dojin Soft’s payment system.”
“So, you’re planning to charge a payment processing fee?”
Han Yu-ju nodded.
“Previously, payment processing fees were divided among individual apps, but we’re building an integrated payment system called Dojin Pay to consolidate all transactions into one place.”
“What will the fee rate be?”
The presentation moved to the next slide.
“As you can see, initially, we’re setting the fee at around 2.5%, and as the payment volume increases, we believe it could go up to 3%.”
It was evident that a lot of thought had gone into this.
“And you’re adding a fintech platform on top of that?”
“Yes, through the fintech platform, we’ll provide user-to-user transfers, automatic payments, and in the future, even small loan services. We could also launch tailored loan products based on the transaction history of Pang Pang Mall sellers.”
Hong Chung-ki looked intrigued.
“If we develop loan products based on transaction data, the financial industry will have no choice but to take notice of us.”
“In the future, user data will be an asset in itself.”
I spontaneously named the loan product the KTalk Lending Program.
“By analyzing sellers’ sales performance, customer satisfaction, and inventory management data, we can assess loan eligibility and achieve decent results.”
Of course, to offer fintech services, we’d need approval from financial regulators.
We’d also need to obtain fintech licenses in the US, Europe, China, and other regions outside of Korea.
“Not to mention, there are many issues to resolve, such as building an anti-money laundering (AML) system.”
There were numerous complex legal procedures to navigate.
“These are new territories even for the government, so it’ll take some time. Let’s form a financial advisory team within the legal department to expedite the process. I’ll handle the government side of things.”
As long as we keep Baek Mu-jin informed, it shouldn’t be a major issue.
After all, that’s why we rescued him from the crisis and provide regular political donations.
“What’s next?”
“Hmm?”
When asked about additional monetization models, Han Yu-ju looked puzzled.
“Monetization models—are the four you mentioned all there are?”
“……Yes, for now.”
What she’d presented wasn’t bad, but it was far from sufficient to generate substantial revenue.
“Han Yu-ju.”
When I called her name, she responded with a slightly tense voice.
“Yes, CEO.”
“As I’ve said before, among the Dojin Group subsidiaries, I see Dojin Soft’s growth potential as high as Dojin Tech’s.”
“If you think it’s high, how high…?”
“I believe it can grow to the level of at least Microsoft or Google.”
“Huh?”
Not just Han Yu-ju, but most of the attendees gasped in astonishment at my words.
Microsoft and Google.
These were companies ranked 3rd and 4th in global market capitalization.
“Are you seriously suggesting that Dojin Soft could grow to that extent?”
Han Yu-ju shook her head in disbelief.
I understood their surprise, but their reaction wasn’t very encouraging.
“Han, you need to recognize the magnitude of what you’re working on.”
“……”
I shifted my gaze from Han Yu-ju and looked at each attendee in turn.
“In the PC era of desktops, Windows and the internet were crucial, but in the smartphone era, mobile OS and its ecosystem will take their place.”
I pointed to the screen with my finger.
“That OS is Lunar, and the ecosystem includes things like KTalk and Pang Pang.”
“If we can find the right monetization model, becoming a company like Microsoft or Google isn’t impossible.”
Hong Chung-ki supported my statement, and the other team leaders nodded in agreement.
“Compared to Microsoft, we already dominate 65% of the Windows market, don’t we?”
“If we had charged for Lunar, we could’ve made a fortune.”
One of the team leaders said regretfully, but if we had, we wouldn’t have gained market share as quickly as we did.
“Moving forward, I plan to integrate smartphones, cloud services, fintech, and content platforms into one.”
“Are you saying that all services will be managed through Lunar?”
I nodded in response to Han Yu-ju’s question.
Then, I displayed the materials I’d prepared on the screen.
A diagram appeared with the phrase ‘Digital Ecosystem Integration.’
“Han Yu-ju.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“As of yesterday, what were the monthly active users for KTalk and Pang Pang?”
“KTalk has around 210 million, and Pang Pang Mall has about 53 million.”
Pang Pang hasn’t been around for long, so its user base isn’t as large, but it’s growing rapidly thanks to Lunar and KTalk.
“From now on, we’ll maximize revenue based on these users.”
“……How so?”
Everyone, including Han Yu-ju, looked at me curiously.
“By introducing a subscription system.”
The unfamiliar term caused a stir in the meeting room.
I advanced the presentation to the next slide, revealing the title ‘Lunar Subscription Service.’
“Lunar Subscription Service?”
“For example, we’ll provide Lunar users with around 2GB of free cloud storage, and charge a monthly subscription fee for anything above that.”
“Like Google’s cloud storage service?”
“Similar, but not exactly.”
I moved to the next slide.
Lunar Subscription Service: 3-Tier Structure
- Basic Plan ($5/month): 10GB cloud storage + ad removal
- Premium Plan ($15/month): 100GB cloud storage + unlimited KTalk emoticons + Pang Pang discount coupons
- VIP Plan ($30/month): 500GB cloud storage + exclusive discounts on premium Pang Pang products + Lunar Music streaming service + monthly game item payouts
After reviewing the materials, Hong Chung-ki tilted his head in confusion.
“Will users really accept this?”
“We’ll make it so they have no choice but to accept it.”
I gestured to advance the presentation by one more slide.
Lunar Store
“Lunar will remain free to distribute, as before, but new features will require a subscription.”
Han Yu-ju’s eyes widened in surprise.
“So, for example, to use the new premium KTalk emoticons, you’d need to subscribe to the Premium Plan?”
“I didn’t specifically mean emoticons, but it’s similar. If you subscribe to the Premium Plan on Pang Pang Mall, you’ll get benefits like express delivery. The details are something you and your team will need to work out.”
Hong Jin-man raised his hand.
“Won’t this forced subscription model create resentment among users?”
It was a good question.
I advanced the presentation by one more slide.
Gradual Subscription Transition Plan
“As shown in the materials, to minimize resentment, we’ll approach this in stages.”
- Stage 1: Provide basic cloud storage for free, with additional capacity available for a fee.
- Stage 2: Add ad removal and additional features (e.g., chat themes, wallpaper changes, advanced message effects) and increase Pang Pang Mall points accrual.
- Stage 3: Introduce Pang Pang Mall Premium Membership. Benefits include express delivery, exclusive product discounts, and free returns.
- Stage 4: Launch a video platform. Build a streaming platform with various genres, including movies, dramas, game broadcasts, and educational content.
- Stage 5: …
- Stage 6: …
After my explanation, contrary to expectations, there was silence.
Moments later, Hong Chung-ki finally spoke, expressing his amazement.
“If all of this is successfully implemented, Dojin Soft’s performance will skyrocket.”
“Whatever you imagine, it’ll be more than that.”
If everything goes according to plan, we’ll become a company larger than the combined might of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Netflix.
Of course, that’s still a distant future.
It’s not impossible, but there are many hurdles to overcome.
“CEO, to do everything you’ve mentioned, there are many issues to resolve, but the most pressing is the data center problem.”
The first step I mentioned was providing free cloud storage, which would require a data center large enough to offer free storage to over 200 million users.
“How much additional capacity do we need?”
Han Yu-ju opened her notebook, quickly ran some calculations, and then looked up to respond.
“Our current data center has a storage capacity of 500PB, but to run all the services you mentioned, we’d need 15,000PB.”
15,000PB.
Converted to terabytes (TB), that’s 15,000,000TB.
Currently, this is an unimaginable scale.
“……So, we need to increase our data center size by 30 times?”
“That’s the minimum. We might even need more.”
“At 100TB per rack, we’d need 150,000 racks.”
In response to Hong Jin-man’s comment, Oh Seong-hak gasped in astonishment.
“150,000 racks—just how much land would that require?”
At 2.5m² per rack, 150,000 racks would require 375,000m², or approximately 113,000 pyeong.
“The Dongtan Plant 2, currently under construction, is 15,000 pyeong.”
At the mention of needing several times that amount of land, murmurs of disbelief filled the room.
“Yeouido is 87,000 pyeong, so we’d need an even larger plot of land.”
“CEO, there’s something missing from your calculations.”
“Something missing?”
I expressed confusion at Han Yu-ju’s comment.
“Based on racks alone, we’d need about 113,000 pyeong, but including power rooms, cooling rooms, communication rooms, security facilities, and management offices, we’d need at least 200,000 pyeong.”
“Wow.”
This time, even I was stunned by the scale.
200,000 pyeong.
That’s comparable to a typical semiconductor production line.
“……The costs for land acquisition and construction would also be substantial.”
Oh Seong-hak expressed significant concern.
Given our already tight finances, the mention of such a massive investment was worrying, to say the least.
So, I decided to take a closer look at our current financial situation and the required investment.