Chapter 206: Shareholders’ Meeting
In stifling silence,
PRIME moved to the starting line.
Its low, wide, and aggressive body and rear active aero wing slowly moved, showcasing its presence.
The crowd marveled at the car’s overwhelming exterior, and the sound of ‘click’ echoed from all around.
I picked up the walkie-talkie and left one last word for the team.
“Everything is perfect. Let’s prove PRIME’s existence to the world.”
Others might have called it arrogant if they heard it.
But our people were already so full of confidence, having witnessed PRIME’s performance firsthand countless times, that it was overflowing.
The host’s countdown began.
[3, 2, 1…… Go!]
With the speaker’s signal, PRIME’s body shot out with a roar.
The acceleration was so tremendous that it was hard to believe it was an electric car.
After the tires screamed for a moment,
the sound disappeared in an instant, and the body ran straight like a bullet.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the data screen.
After a while, the record appeared.
0-100 km/h: 1.69 seconds
Top speed: 458 km/h
The crowd erupted in cheers and gasps at the record.
“No way! Is it really in the one-second range?”
“As CEO Kang Tae-joon said, it really broke the magical two-second barrier, right?”
“Is it true that Dojin is making a car for the first time?”
Although Kang Tae-joon had released PRIME’s specs on the feed, there were far more people who didn’t believe it than those who did.
But when the lid was finally opened, Kang Tae-joon’s words were not a lie.
The circuit became a cauldron of excitement.
Even the host, holding the mic, seemed surprised, and a trembling voice came through the speakers.
[We have just witnessed history! Dojin Frontier’s PRIME has rewritten the history of automobiles with a performance that overwhelms internal combustion hypercars.]
The crowd rose to their feet and began to applaud.
Looking around slowly,
I saw the expression of CEO Lee Dong-hoon in another VIP seat, looking troubled.
Normally, Ahsung’s Hyper R1 could have been in the spotlight for its higher-than-expected performance,
but now no one was paying attention to Ahsung.
‘Normally, the two-second barrier, which would have been broken four years later, has already been broken…’
It was only natural that the world’s attention was focused on it.
Immediately after the event,
I shared the result of today’s event on the feed along with the video I had just taken.
[KTalk Feed] - @Kang Tae-joon | Followers: 97,827,281
The era of PRIME!
0-100 km/h: 1.69 seconds, Top speed: 458 km/h
The highest-performing car in existence
Proof complete
#DojinFrontier #NewStandard #RecordBroken #LimitedSale #1000Units #$2M
【Buy ☑】0%
【Don’t Buy ☑】0%
※0 votes
Not long after posting,
the comment section of the feed began to boil.
The voting window, put up to check the number of buyers, saw numbers rising at an incredible speed with each click.
-1 hour later
【Buy ☑】81%
【Don’t Buy ☑】19%
※528,871 votes
-3 hours later
【Buy ☑】79%
【Don’t Buy ☑】21%
※1,219,766 votes
-24 hours later
【Buy ☑】83%
【Don’t Buy ☑】17%
※5,827,773 votes · Final result
└Crazy. There are so many people who want to buy PRIME?
└ㅋㅋㅋ $2 million per car
└I really want one, but it’s too expensive.
└Still cheaper than the Bugatti Chiron, which is $3 million and performs worse.
└I can’t afford it either, but I clicked on ‘Buy.’
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Damn, me too.
└Driving that would be seriously cool.
└The design is really the endgame.
└A pie in the sky.
└You should have bought Dojin Frontier stocks like me. Cozy, huh
└Ah… The stock price must have soared, too?
└It’s at $14.6 now!
└Whoa, it rose another 20% in just one day?
└What’s the PER? You’re all going to end up broke. Be careful.
└Whether the PER is 50 or 500, you’re a fool if you don’t buy it now.
└Dojin Frontier… I wonder if the institutions and investors who bet against our Tae-joon brother are okay.
└But there are over 4.8 million people who want to buy PRIME, right?
└There will be a lot of fake buyers. It’s hard for ordinary people to buy a $2 million car.
└Even if it’s not a premium car, the demand would be huge if they released a regular car.
└Is it really the era of PRIME and Dojin Frontier, as Kang Tae-joon said?
└ㅋㅋㅋ What about Ahsung Motors, which lives on domestic sales?
＊＊＊
A few days later.
Ahsung Motors headquarters, main conference room.
The shareholders’ meeting began in a tense atmosphere.
The faces of the shareholders, reporters, and executives filling the seats were stiff with tension.
On the podium, Vice Chairman Cheon Jun-seok and Executive Director Cheon Jun-young sat side by side, glaring at each other.
“We will now begin the Ahsung Motors shareholders’ meeting.”
The chairman’s cold voice echoed through the conference room.
The agenda was immediately presented.
“The first item is the dismissal of CEO Lee Dong-hoon.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the room began to stir.
Cheon Jun-seok’s face was a mix of bewilderment and anger.
CEO Lee Dong-hoon was someone everyone knew was his man.
“The proposer of the dismissal is Executive Director Cheon Jun-young. Please speak.”
Cheon Jun-young slowly rose from his seat and began to speak with confidence.
“Dear shareholders, you have seen Ahsung Motors’ recent performance. Despite the group’s massive support, the market response was disappointing, and the gap with global competitors has only widened.”
Pausing for a moment, Cheon Jun-young looked around the room and continued.
“The Hyper R1 project, undertaken on a grand scale, cost a staggering 600 billion won, yet it produced results inferior to those of Dojin, a company making its first car on the Burkling Circuit. This is evidence that the current leadership is no longer keeping up with the times.”
The room fell silent.
Reporters’ fingers flew across their keyboards, and some shareholders nodded in agreement.
Cheon Jun-seok couldn’t hold back and stood up.
“Isn’t it an exaggeration to say that we’re not keeping up with the times? Although it didn’t match PRIME’s performance, Hyper R1 achieved by no means poor results.”
Cheon Jun-young immediately retorted.
“Where exactly are the results not poor? Hyper’s 0-100 km/h record is a mere 2.4 seconds, while PRIME showcased an unbelievable 1.6 seconds. And this is from a company making its first car.”
Cheon Jun-young declared, facing forward.
“I stand here today for the future of Ahsung Motors. I believe change is needed before it’s too late. I urge you to pass the dismissal motion.”
The chairman nodded and said,
“We will now begin voting on the dismissal of CEO Lee Dong-hoon. The voting will be electronic, and the results will be announced in one minute.”
At the chairman’s words, Cheon Jun-seok frowned and returned to his seat.
Choi Ha-rim gestured to him not to worry too much.
‘Anyway, the shares secured by Executive Director Cheon Jun-young’s side, aside from the 15% affiliate shares, will never exceed an additional 5%.’
Even if they bought more shares in the room, there was no way Cheon Jun-young’s side could secure more with their funds.
‘What about Kim Seong-jae meeting the major shareholders? Is it really nothing to worry about?’
‘Yes, the major shareholders holding significant shares have already declared neutrality, and most of the others are overseas asset management firms. They’re not easy to persuade.’
In contrast, Cheon Jun-seok’s side had secured an additional 5% through slush funds, on top of the 19.7% held by Ahsung Holdings, Ahsung Electronics, and Ahsung Defense.
So, there was no need to worry about a vote.
But the result was completely different from Choi Ha-rim’s expectation.
As soon as the electronic voting results appeared on the screen at the front of the room, Cheon Jun-seok’s expression froze completely.
『Dismissal of CEO Lee Dong-hoon』
-
For: 52.3%
-
Against: 47.7%
“…I declare the dismissal motion passed.”
The chairman’s voice was calm,
but its echo resonated deeply within the main conference room.
Cheon Jun-young looked up at the bewildered Cheon Jun-seok
and curled the corners of his mouth into a victorious smile.
“What the… How did this happen?”
Choi Ha-rim’s face turned pale as he checked the data belatedly.
Polar Arc Investment, Ayles Holdings, Harold Finance, Astrees Equity…
All the asset management firms they thought were impossible to persuade were supporting Cheon Jun-young.
“…It seems that a full 13% of the major shareholders’ shares are supporting Executive Director Cheon Jun-young.”
“What? 13%?”
Cheon Jun-seok’s confusion continued at the unexpectedly large scale.
In that situation, the chairman presented an additional agenda.
“The next item is the appointment of a new CEO.”
All eyes turned to him,
and in the silence, the chairman’s voice continued.
“Executive Director Moon Yong-wook of Ahsung Motors’ Strategic Marketing Division has been recommended as the new CEO.”
Cheon Jun-seok looked surprised at the name Moon Yong-wook.
Although he was Cheon Jun-young’s man, he had been kicked out of Ahsung Electronics’ Mobile Division due to the consecutive failures of Quantum.
“Was it Ahsung Motors that Executive Director Moon was kicked out of?”
“Yes, Chairman, you were about to fire him immediately, but Director Kim Seong-jae intervened, allowing him to move to Ahsung Motors.”
“It seems my brother’s side is short on people, considering they’re using someone like that.”
“Still, he’s not someone to be taken lightly. Dojin’s Quantum was just too outstanding, so he couldn’t make Titan a success, but he’s a capable figure.”
While Cheon Jun-seok and Choi Ha-rim were talking,
the electronic voting proceeded once more.
The result, like the first agenda,
was the passage of the CEO appointment, marking the end of the shareholders’ meeting.