The arrest of the former president, not even two months after leaving office, was a social shock.
The majority’s reaction was that he got what he deserved, but some supporters held sporadic protests in various locations, claiming Park Si-hyeong’s innocence.
Several conservative media outlets, including the Joongilbo, published articles calling it political retaliation, and the internet was noisy again.
– lol Kang Jin-hoo, not the special prosecutor, arrested the former president.
– Otaku VS Former President. Otaku wins!
– If only he hadn’t touched Kang Jin-hoo, he could have spent his retirement happily with all the money he embezzled.
– The cost of managing inmates is also tax money. He used to leech off taxes all the time, and now he’s getting room and board with taxes even after leaving office.
– He was so against free school lunches, and now he’s going to be getting free meals in prison.
– I’m going to visit the former president in jail with his favorite beef and rice soup.
– The former president is innocent! Dissolve the special prosecution and release the former president immediately!
– Stop the political retaliation now!
– Arrest the pro-North Korean leftist Kang Jin-hoo!
– What? The comment squad is still around?
– Is it the National Intelligence Service or the Defense Security Command?
– Looks like remnants of the Sipaldan.
***
Seoul Eastern Detention Center.
The president who had led a country until recently was now in custody awaiting trial.
Park Si-hyeong, wearing a uniform with a number instead of his usual suit, looked around. However, unlike other inmates, he was given a spacious solitary cell out of respect for his former position.
But even “spacious” meant only about three pyeong (approximately 100 square feet).
Inside the room, there was a foldable mattress, a TV, a storage cabinet, and a desk that doubled as a dining table. Behind a partition were a toilet and a sink.
The iron door couldn’t be opened from the inside, and the only place sunlight came in was a narrow window with iron bars.
He couldn’t believe this was reality.
‘Why am I here?’
The five years he spent as president were like a blissful dream. Everyone looked up to him, everyone followed him.
Even when his term ended, he wasn’t particularly worried.
In the meantime, PAS had grown into a large corporation with overseas factories and subsidiaries, and the money embezzled from various overseas resource development projects and national projects was piled up in overseas accounts. It also seemed certain that his designated successor would become president.
Everything was perfect, and he thought he only had to live out a comfortable retirement.
But…
Power had shifted, PAS had gone bankrupt. And now he was locked up in a detention center like this. The money in his overseas accounts was still there, but what good was it when he was locked up like this?
He was currently facing over 20 charges. Abuse of power, bribery, embezzlement, breach of trust, and so on. If even a few of them resulted in a guilty verdict, he would have to spend ten years in prison. If things went badly, he might have to spend the rest of his life there.
His only hope was a pardon.
‘Why? Why did this happen to me? What did I do wrong?’
What went wrong, and where?
He had thought about it countless times, but there was only one reason for this.
Park Si-hyeong gritted his teeth.
‘It’s all because of that bastard. If it weren’t for him, none of this would have happened.’
When it was bedtime, the lights were turned off for the night.
Park Si-hyeong pulled the blanket over himself and lay down on the mattress. Even when the lights were turned off for inmate management, it wasn’t completely dark.
In the quiet, the footsteps of the guards echoed intermittently.
He had vowed not to cry, but he felt so wronged and resentful that tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
Park Si-hyeong sobbed under the blanket, muttering.
“Kang Jin-hoo, you son of a bitch… the worst person in the world… I hope you go completely bankrupt and become a beggar.”
***
The famous American business magazine Forbes publishes a list of the richest people every year.
There are approximately 2,200 billionaires worldwide.
A notable point this year is that AMZ CEO Jake Byron surpassed Bill Gates of Microsoft to take the top spot. And my name rose to third place.
Taek-gyu said with a hint of regret.
“It’s because this was compiled before the new car came out. If it were compiled after, you would have been number one.”
“Well, that’s not that important.”
Since it’s a privately held company, it’s inevitably disadvantageous in the rankings. Actually, if you consider everything, Mansour should be in first place.
I sat with Taek-gyu and connected a video call.
The CarOS executives on the screen all had lively expressions. They were excited because the cars were selling so well.
Currently, pre-orders for the AD1 and AD2 are backed up for six months. Even if you reserve now, you’ll have to wait six months to receive it.
“Prioritize quality control over production quantity.”
The AD1 and AD2 are the first cars CarOS has made. If quality issues arise from the beginning, there’s a risk of damaging the company’s image.
“Understood.”
Daryl reported on the current situation.
Premium brands, known as the German Big Three, weren’t significantly impacted. However, the sales of competing models from Toyota, GM, Ford, and Eunsung Motors, which overlapped in class, showed a noticeable decline.
On the other hand, our sales surged rapidly from rock bottom due to the increase in sales volume, and profits also skyrocketed.
“We continue to receive inquiries from foreign dealerships.”
Currently, it’s difficult to even meet the demand within the US, but we will eventually have to export. Even now, we could export them as long as we excluded the autonomous driving feature, but who would be crazy enough to buy this car without autonomous driving?
CarOS has applied for autonomous driving vehicle testing in several countries. Since traffic laws differ in each country, we have to obtain permits individually.
In Europe, the permits were issued without any major issues. Korea and Japan have begun the review process, but China has rejected the applications for various reasons.
India stated outright that the government would not permit technologies that could threaten the jobs of taxi and transport drivers.
It’s inevitable that countries with their own domestic car brands will be more wary of new technologies. However, we can’t give up on these markets.
This shows how much people are worried about the aftermath of autonomous vehicles.
“How is the development of the electric vehicle going?”
“The development is almost in its final stages. The key is still the battery.”
All problems with electric vehicles start and end with the battery.
Currently, almost all automakers, including Eunsung Motors, are selling electric vehicles. However, the quantities are not that large.
This is due to the high cost and supply issues of batteries.
Despite government subsidies, most companies, except for a few, are either losing money or selling at cost. That’s why even if they sell well, they can’t easily increase production volume.
The CarOS cars currently being sold are about $20,000 more expensive than other cars due to the various autonomous driving equipment. If we make them electric, the price will inevitably be even higher.
Of course, even if the price is high, some people will buy them, but since we plan to completely transition to electric vehicles rather than just releasing one electric model, the price is a sensitive factor.
Fortunately, OTK Company has a battery manufacturer, TS Company, under its umbrella. Just by sourcing batteries internally, we can lower the price to some extent and manage the supply stably.
Daryl said, “It would be great if the OTK Research Institute could develop a new battery quickly.”
He seemed quite hopeful.
That will happen someday, but it’s still uncertain when. It’s not something that can be rushed.
As we were about to go to lunch after the meeting, my phone rang.
It was Professor Kim Ho-min.
I answered the phone.
[Long time no see.]
“Yes, Professor. How have you been?”
I met him once after returning from the US, and since then we hadn’t contacted each other, so it had been a few months since we talked.
Professor Kim Ho-min said with a hint of feigned disappointment.
[Isn’t our CEO too uninterested in the research institute?]
“Haha, isn’t that more comfortable for you?”
When I brought Professor Kim Ho-min on board as the research director, I promised that he could conduct research freely without any interference.
True to my word, I only provided funding and didn’t receive any reports or ask any questions about the research and development.
I was confident that if I just waited and watched, he would produce research results on his own.
[Can you come here now? I think we’ve solved the problem.]
I was startled by his words.
“What did you say?”
***
NCM batteries, also known as ternary batteries, contain nickel, cobalt, and manganese. Among these, cobalt accounts for about 30 percent of the battery’s cost. Therefore, all battery manufacturers are conducting research to reduce the cobalt content.
Last year, Professor Kim Ho-min surprised the world by developing a battery that didn’t use cobalt. (Although the cost was higher than using cobalt for the time being).
What was even more surprising was that he more than doubled the battery capacity in the process. If the safety issues could be resolved, it was a groundbreaking invention that could upend the industry.
Taek-gyu and I immediately got in the car and headed to the research institute.
After parking the car and going inside, Professor Kim Ho-min, with disheveled hair and a scruffy appearance, greeted us.
We headed to the lab together. The researchers inside looked exhausted, but their expressions were incredibly bright.
“Did you really solve the safety issues?”
At my question, Professor Kim Ho-min nodded and said, “Lithium is light and has high conductivity, but it is inherently unstable. So there’s always a risk of overheating due to defects or damage. Therefore, the key to batteries is to store lithium ions safely. So, we kept experimenting with methods to improve safety. First, we changed the microstructure of the lithium-rich layered oxide. Originally, nickel has low structural stability, so we synthesized it at high temperatures to lower it further and then arranged it within the microstructure. But there are clear limitations with conventional batteries. The method we ultimately chose was solid-state batteries. Since the electrolyte is solidified, it won’t overheat or explode even with impact, and since there’s no liquid in the electrolyte, it’s also possible to stack the cathode and anode in layers to achieve high voltage.”
After the explanation, I nodded enthusiastically.
“Ah! I see.”
“Wow! What an incredible method!”
Seeing Taek-gyu’s admiration, I was relieved that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand everything.
I asked an important question.
“Then, is mass production possible?”
“Since there’s no need to surface-treat the synthesized cathode material, the post-processing is simpler.”
“Does that mean it’s possible?”
“That’s right.”
Just as I was about to cheer, Professor Kim Ho-min smiled awkwardly and said, “But the unit cost is a bit of a problem.”
No matter how good the technology is, it’s impossible to commercialize if it’s too expensive.
“How much is it?”
“It depends on how we set up the production system, but it won’t be significantly more expensive than other batteries with the same capacity.”
“Then there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Currently, battery manufacturers were fighting a war over two issues: unit cost and capacity.
If 6000mAh costs about the same as two 3000mAh batteries, that alone gives it an advantage.
Since twice the capacity fits in the same volume, wouldn’t it be possible to significantly lower the cost in the process of manufacturing battery cells and battery packs?
Taek-gyu asked, “How far can you drive an electric car with this battery?”
“It might be possible to go over 1,000 kilometers.”
The maximum driving range of electric vehicles currently on the market is around 500 kilometers. But with this battery, it can be doubled.
This means the driving range is longer than that of diesel cars.
“Another advantage is that the charging time is half that of existing batteries. With fast charging, you can charge enough for 200 kilometers in 10 minutes.”
“That’s amazing.”
Professor Kim Ho-min said confidently, “This is just the beginning. If we advance the technology, it’s possible to increase the capacity even further.”
I swallowed hard.
What kind of ripple effect will this cause in the future?
This isn’t just about electric vehicles. There are no wireless electronic devices that operate without batteries. Therefore, batteries are the core of all electronic devices.
Despite the recent trend of electronic devices becoming smaller and wireless, battery development has been slower compared to the pace of technological advancements.
Electric vehicles can’t go beyond 500 kilometers, smartphones don’t last more than a day, and drones can only fly for a few hours.
All of this is due to the limitations of batteries.
But now, we have obtained a technology that surpasses those limitations!
Taek-gyu raised his hand and asked, “By the way, what’s the name of the battery?”
You can’t call a battery that doesn’t contain cobalt an NCM battery.
What should it be called?
I said to Professor Kim Ho-min, “Professor, since you developed it, why don’t you name it?”
“Hmm, a name…”
After thinking for a moment, Professor Kim Ho-min scratched his head and said, “We’ve just been calling it the OTK battery among ourselves. Shouldn’t we just keep calling it that?”
“……”
Ah, that darn OTK…
(TL/n: Sipaldan is nothing but a online group name that were against Jinhoo)
