As the public rose up, the political sphere, which had been idle while only paying attention to the labor sector, began to move.
President Heo Chang-min and the Blue House appeased the labor sector while advising them to make concessions. The New Politics Party adopted attracting and supporting the electric vehicle industrial complex as their party platform and expressed support for the seniority-based wage system.
The Liberty National Party, which had unconditionally opposed everything the Blue House and the ruling party did, this time spoke with one voice.
Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties began to persuade related companies and propose bills to secure the industrial complex.
As union withdrawals continued, the power of the two major labor federations rapidly declined, and the Eunsung Motors union was completely cornered.
Demonstrations continued in front of the headquarters of Eunsung Motors Group and OTK Company, but they were met with criticism from passing citizens. Some citizens even staged counter-protests in front of the unions, as if to show them.
Currently, the Korean automobile industry was in its worst crisis.
Car sales were continuously decreasing due to changes in population structure, car sharing, ride sharing, and autonomous driving technology. However, even considering these factors, the situation in Korea was particularly severe.
Until a few years ago, Korea had firmly maintained its position as the 5th largest producer in the world, but it had fallen to 6th place, overtaken by India. As the airbag recall crisis and strikes overlapped, it had now fallen to 7th place, even behind Mexico. With the Gunsan plant now closed, production volume was bound to decrease further.
If the situation of finished vehicle manufacturers was this bad, it went without saying that the situation for partner companies was worse. Among the primary partner companies, which could be considered medium-sized enterprises, half were operating at a loss, and secondary and tertiary partners were on the verge of bankruptcy. If even one secondary partner company went bankrupt, dozens of tertiary companies would collapse together.
In this situation, they launched an all-out strike demanding wage increases and preferential hiring for union members’ children, so it was no wonder that public opinion was unfavorable.
Looking back, the strike was unjustified from the beginning. Among union members, voices calling for the withdrawal of the strike grew louder.
From the point Eunsung Motors signed a memorandum of understanding with CarOS, the strike was already a meaningless act.
Stock prices were recovering, and shareholders supported the Han Chang-young system. Sufficient funds had also been secured through BW issuance. Partner companies breathed a sigh of relief thanks to Eunsung Motors’ emergency funding and orders from CarOS.
Above all, even if the industrial complex was moved overseas, the problem would not be completely solved.
According to the labor-management agreement, Eunsung Motors cannot bring vehicles produced in foreign factories into the country. However, OTK Company is the one leading the electric vehicle industrial complex. Eunsung Motors is only involved in factory operation and equity investment.
If vehicles produced overseas are brought into Korea under a different brand, not Eunsung Motors, and by a different company, there are no effective means to stop it.
If this happens, it will become impossible to hold the domestic market hostage through strikes anymore. This meant that the monopolistic status that the labor union had enjoyed until now would be broken.
From now on, they would have to compete in productivity with newly built factories. For the union, the worst-case scenario had become a reality.
So, union leader Joo Seong-mu shouted that Eunsung Motors should break the agreement and completely withdraw the investment plan, but it was a meaningless cry.
If they had forcibly pushed ahead with the investment plan, perhaps there would have been grounds for this side to oppose it to the end. However, Kang Jin-hoo openly withdrew investment in Korea and neutralized the resistance by garnering public support.
‘Could it be that he knew from the beginning that it would turn out like this?’
Union leader Joo Seong-mu recalled the image of the young man in his twenties he had met a few days ago and gritted his teeth.
“Kang Jin-hoo, you son of a bitch……”
***
The Eunsung Motors union withdrew the strike and returned to work. It was the first time they had ended a strike without any gains.
Union leader Joo Seong-mu and the union officials resigned from their positions, taking responsibility.
As the momentum for struggle had already been lost, they gained nothing in the subsequent negotiations with the company.
Wages were frozen, and none of their demands, including preferential hiring for union members’ children, were accepted. They only managed to reaffirm job security.
Kang Jin-hoo announced that he would build one electric vehicle industrial complex in Korea only after receiving confirmation that the two major labor federations would not oppose it.
***
We began site selection for two electric vehicle industrial complexes.
This level of large-scale investment in electric vehicles is the first since Nikola built the Gigafactory in Nevada.
This is possible because OTK Company has the best technology in autonomous driving and battery fields and is financially well-funded.
Domestically, Gunsan has been tentatively decided as the location.
The reason is obviously that the factory and industrial infrastructure left behind by GM remain intact. As such, the advantage is that the industrial complex can be built most quickly.
We plan to proceed with due diligence in other municipalities as scheduled, as we may build more industrial complexes later depending on the situation.
We plan to guarantee the minimum production volume of the industrial complex, but additional volume will be allocated based on productivity. In short, factories in each region will compete in productivity with each other.
This is a common method used by global companies with production facilities around the world.
The reason Eunsung Motors couldn’t do this was because of the collective agreement that ‘the union’s consent must be obtained when bringing in vehicles or parts produced in overseas factories into Korea.’
Because of this, only Eunsung Motors’ Korean factories could afford to be complacent even in a situation where automobile factories around the world were competing in productivity.
In the case of GM, they relentlessly closed factories with low productivity. The Holden plant in Australia and the Gunsan plant in Korea are prime examples, and the US was no exception, having closed more than ten US factories at one point in the past.
Chairman Han Chang-young announced that he would sequentially convert domestic and overseas factories with low operating rates into electric vehicle production lines and reassign personnel. The union had been sensitive to reassignment in the past, but this time they agreed quietly without saying anything.
I scanned the blueprint of the industrial complex I had received from Chairman Im Jin-yong.
Seosung Electronics will be responsible for producing electronic components necessary for autonomous driving, TS Company will be responsible for producing OTK batteries, and Eunsung Motors will be responsible for producing electric vehicles. OTK Company will provide equity and core technology.
The one spending the most money is, of course, Seosung Group.
Seosung Electronics had been raking in money from around the world thanks to the semiconductor boom. Quarterly operating profit is now over 15 trillion won and approaching 20 trillion won.
Thanks to this, Korea’s current account balance continues to reach record highs even though heavy industries and automobiles are struggling.
Chairman Im Jin-yong poured the money he earned into electronics and batteries.
Expectations were immediately reflected in stock prices. Some experts predicted that when profits from the electronics sector began to materialize in earnest, Seosung Electronics’ market capitalization would surpass Enple.
With the business agreement with Eunsung Motors, CarOS’ electric vehicle development also gained momentum.
Eunsung Motors has world-class technology in the hydrogen vehicle field. Hydrogen vehicles and electric vehicles are only different in whether they use secondary batteries or fuel cells; the driving method itself of using electricity to rotate the motor is almost the same.
CarOS decided to purchase some major components, such as motors and inverters, from Eunsung Motors.
Daryl was confident in launching two electric vehicle models within the year.
What buyers value most in electric vehicles is not various options or performance, but driving range.
The current maximum driving range of electric vehicles is around 500 kilometers. However, with OTK batteries, a range of over 1,000 kilometers is possible.
With a driving range longer than diesel cars, the product competitiveness is sufficient.
In a video conference, Daryl said.
“Platooning experiments are perfectly completed.”
In hundreds of experiments, CarOS succeeded in platooning multiple trucks without any errors. Since it was moving along national highways or expressways, not complex downtown areas or alleys, it was possible to commercialize it immediately with current technology.
However, there were two problems. One is that it would lead to mass unemployment of truck drivers, and the other is that there are no related laws yet.
Since the United States is a federal country, laws are applied differently by state. Some states actively allow autonomous driving, while others prohibit it.
Since logistics trucks travel through multiple states, permission must be obtained from all state governments.
Taek-gyu muttered next to me.
“President Ronald will take care of everything. There’s hope, there’s hope.”
“……”
Yeah. Ronald will somehow take care of it.
Logistics companies such as FedEx and DHL, as well as other companies, are also working to amend the law. If autonomous driving trucks become available, transportation costs can be significantly reduced, and price competitiveness will increase accordingly.
Some states have already shown movement toward amending related laws.
“We are also continuing to develop electric trucks.”
Even though they are both electric vehicles, there are bound to be differences between passenger cars and commercial vehicles. In this field as well, Volvo Trucks, Daimler Group, Nikola, and others have already jumped in and are competing in development.
Just when I thought one thing was over, there was a mountain of work to do.
***
Hyun-joo noona and Henry, who had been staying in a hotel, moved to a new house. They decorated the interior and even prepared a baby room in advance.
Hyun-joo noona was now heavily pregnant. Still, despite the dissuasion of those around her, she didn’t seem to be thinking of taking a break from work until childbirth.
After having lunch with Taek-gyu and Senior Sang-yeop, I sat behind the building and pulled out a vending machine coffee to drink.
Senior Sang-yeop said.
“These days, politicians and the media are full of praise for you.”
Taek-gyu nodded.
“That’s right. Until then, you were only being criticized for what you had done for Korea.”
I don’t know why I had to do something, but it was true that I hadn’t done anything.
Domestic conglomerates make a significant contribution to the national economy simply by existing. They pay corporate taxes and work hard to export and earn dollars. Thanks to that, the current account balance is always in surplus, and foreign exchange reserves are also sufficient.
On the other hand, OTK Company is an investment company with its corporation located overseas, so it does not pay taxes in Korea and does not employ many people.
But this time, it made proper investments and created jobs.
“There’s nothing better than companies creating jobs.”
If making money is the purpose of a company, then job creation is the social responsibility of a company. That’s why the government is sparing no support.
Senior Sang-yeop said, drinking his coffee.
“China seems to be very nervous. They are hastily coming up with electric vehicle subsidy plans and measures to expand subsidies. It seems they are also trying to put pressure on Seosung Electronics and Eunsung Motors.”
China is a typical state-led, government-controlled economy. If you are targeted by the government, there is no answer, whether you are a large company or not.
Even in Korea, during the military regime in the past, there was a case where a chaebol group was dismantled entirely at the word of the president.
“Pressuring them won’t be of much use.”
Eunsung Motors’ joint venture has already seen sales plummet in China due to the recall crisis. Seosung SB batteries are also excluded from subsidy eligibility, so they are virtually not used in electric vehicles in China.
Seosung Electronics has a large proportion of exports to China, but most of its sales come from semiconductors. Even if they block sales of finished products such as smartphones and TVs by raising issues with certification and customs clearance, it is impossible to block semiconductors. This is because if semiconductor supply decreases, the Chinese electronics industry will be hit hard. That’s why semiconductors have always been excluded from the items when China imposed trade retaliation.
“Chairman Im Jin-yong is keeping a close eye on China’s movements.”
Senior Sang-yeop finished his coffee and threw the empty paper cup in the trash can.
“It’s Friday today, what are you doing after work?”
“What about you, senior?”
“I heard a new club opened in Sinsa-dong, so I’m thinking of going.”
I was slightly surprised by those words.
“Senior goes clubbing too?”
“Of course. There’s no reason not to go.”
“Well, I guess so.”
He made a lot of money, so he should go out and spend it. That’s also good for the economy.
Taek-gyu patted me on the shoulder and said.
“You should go too.”
“Huh?”
I did go to Hongdae clubs a few times with the kids at the beginning of the semester, but……
Senior Sang-yeop said jokingly.
“If Kang Jin-hoo shows up at a club, it’ll be chaos. Want to go together?”
I shook my head.
“I’m okay. I have a date with Ellie.”
