Chairman Park Tae-soo of Thinkwin was reluctant to sell his "child"—the company he had
nurtured.
Taewoo Group needed the navigation technology.
There was room for compromise, and a solution that could benefit both sides existed.
"How about this? We purchase only the technology and experience that Thinkwin has
accumulated so far."
"You mean you want to buy our technology and data? …If Taewoo Group uses our technology
and data to launch a navigation system, Thinkwin will be ruined."
"We won't enter the vehicle navigation market. I promise we will only move into the smartphone navigation market."
It didn't matter who dominated the vehicle navigation market.
What I wanted was the navigation technology and the data that would be accumulated going
forward.
Data could be gathered even without vehicle navigation.
And as smartphone usage grew, more data could be collected through phone navigation apps.
"When you say smartphone navigation, are you referring to the service KS Communications
launched last year?"
"We plan to launch a service similar to that, but slightly superior. To be clear, we have absolutely no interest in vehicle navigation. Our focus is solely on smartphone navigation."
Our real competitor was not Thinkwin.
It was KS Communications, who had already launched a vehicle navigation service.
I steered the conversation to plant that idea, and Park Tae-soo's expression gradually shifted.
"Even so, won't the vehicle navigation market shrink once smartphone navigation services are released?"
"We will register Thinkwin as a primary supplier for both Taewoo Motors and Kia Motors.
Moreover, we'll include Thinkwin's navigation system as an optional feature."
Promotion was key to boosting product sales.
This was effectively a promise to promote Thinkwin's navigation system through Taewoo and Kia Motors, which naturally meant a significant increase in their sales.
"Are you really going to do that? We're truly grateful for the offer, but won't that be too much of a burden for Taewoo Motors?"
"Adding it as an optional feature means the Taewoo Group is vouching for the product. As long as Thinkwin doesn't deliver defective units, their navigation system will remain on the option list."
"Don't worry about quality! If any defective products come out, we'll recall and refund or replace them all."
"In return, we want exclusive rights to use the technology and data."
"That's only natural. And if any other automakers approach you with similar offers, you'll consult with me first, right?"
With a few promotional promises, I had effectively saved 50 billion won.
Registering Thinkwin's product as an optional feature didn't cost us a single won, so I could say I got exactly what I wanted without paying a penny.
This wasn't a bad deal for Thinkwin either.
Being designated a primary supplier for Taewoo Group would raise the company's value.
If they listed on the KOSDAQ, their market cap could easily surpass 100 billion won.
Thinkwin kept their promise.
They shared all their technology and data with us and provided all that information to Chun Minjung.
"With this level of technology and data, will it be helpful? This came from Korea's top navigation company."
"It's not bad, but there are quite a few things that need to be improved."
"How long would it take to initially supplement this so it can be used as navigation on
smartphones?"
"The timeframe depends on the features you want. Please tell me what you consider essential."
After all, it was a navigation system to be released under the Taewoo Group.
It needed to be superior and distinctive compared to other companies' products.
"First, I want it to reflect real-time traffic information. Furthermore, it would be great if it could include a feature to reroute around congested roads."
"That's possible, but only if certain difficult conditions are met."
"What kind of conditions?"
"There have to be customers using our smartphone navigation app across roads nationwide for us to reflect real-time traffic information."
"That won't be a problem. Taewoo Telecom is Korea's number one telecom provider and has the largest number of smartphone users."
Real-time information ultimately depends on the users.
The more users there are, the more detailed and diverse information can be gathered.
"Developing that feature isn't particularly hard. It's just a matter of analyzing and distributing the data through an algorithm."
"And I want it to include voice recognition. Using your hands to operate the system while driving can cause accidents."
"We already have a voice recognition system developed, so it just needs to be implemented."
"And it would be great to have an estimated time of arrival based on real-time info."
"That's also not difficult."
"Also, fuel price information would be good. If gas prices at different stations are updated daily, customers would like that, wouldn't they?"
"…I'll include that feature too."
Am I asking for too much?
Even for an initial version, a product bearing the Taewoo name had to have at least these features.
"When can this be done?"
"We're working on another project right now, so it's hard to finish quickly. Even with a team
working on it, it will take at least a month."
"Only a month?"
"If I had enough time, I could finish it within a week, but that's not possible. I will do my best to complete it within a month. However, even if it's completed, the accuracy will inevitably suffer if there aren't enough users."
"I'll take responsibility for securing users. I will gather more users than you expect, Chun Minjung."
With this mutual understanding and tasks assigned, we parted ways.
I went up to the vice chairman's office and called Lee Joo-young, president of Taewoo Telecom.
I explained to him about the smartphone-only navigation app. Since he was already familiar with the navigation service KS Telecom was offering, a long explanation wasn't necessary.
"So you're saying we'll also launch a smartphone-only navigation app?"
"Since it will be released under the Taewoo name, it has to be better than KS Telecom's service, right? It will include various features like real-time traffic info, congestion alerts, detour guidance, and voice recognition. The development is underway, and we aim to launch next month."
"As expected from the vice chairman. I was thinking Taewoo Telecom needed a navigation
service too. So you've already started development ahead of time!"
Lee Joo-young mistakenly believed I had been developing the service for some time. Since the development just began today, it was true that it was in progress, so I didn't correct him.
"We need to collect real-time user data to provide a better service. So securing even one more customer is critical."
"There's a way. Like KS Telecom, if we offer the service free to Taewoo Telecom users, we can quickly gain customers."
Only KS Telecom users could use KS Navigation.
This was a natural policy to attract subscribers and also necessary considering data costs.
"Let's provide the navigation service free to all smartphone users, regardless of whether they are Taewoo Telecom or KS Telecom customers."
"If the navigation we're developing performs better than KS Telecom's, wouldn't that be enough? Some users would switch carriers because of the superior navigation."
"Are you suggesting we offer it free only to Taewoo Telecom customers?"
"Yes. If we offer it free to all telecom customers, it would be difficult to cover the data costs."
The president's position was contract-based.
If sales declined or losses occurred in the affiliate, the contract could be terminated, so Lee Jooyoung responded sensitively.
"Taewoo IT will cover the data costs for users who are not Taewoo Telecom customers."
"Is it really necessary to go that far to increase users?"
"When KS Telecom's navigation service quality declines, we need to attract as many customers as possible to increase our market share significantly."
It's a virtuous cycle.
The more users there are, the more data can be collected.
And only with abundant data can a high-quality service be provided.
That's why—even if we take some losses in the short term—we must aggressively focus on user acquisition.
"Understood. I'll plan to secure as many customers as possible."
"Please coordinate promotion efforts with Taewoo Telecom and the group's planning office."
Just as the conversation with President Lee Joo-young was wrapping up, suddenly—
Bang!
The door to the vice chairman's office swung open.
There was only one person in the group who could open the door without knocking.
"What brings the chairman here? If you had called, I would have come up to meet you."
"You have to walk around while you still can, don't you think? By the way, President Lee's face looks much better these days. Executives really do thrive on company revenue. Since Taewoo Telecom's sales are doing well, he looks at least ten years younger."
"Thank you, Chairman. I'll take my leave now."
President Lee bowed deeply and quickly left the office.
Only then did I relax a bit and greeted my grandfather.
"What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to see my grandson's face. If you have time, would you like to take a walk with me?"
"If I don't even have time to walk with you, I should just quit the company. I'll get ready right away."
Something felt unusual.
My grandfather had never dropped by unexpectedly during work hours before.
There was definitely some ulterior motive behind suggesting a walk.
For now, I ignored it and stepped outside the headquarters building.
Grandfather led the way, walking all the way to Seoul Station, right across from the headquarters.
"Isn't it amazing? The first building you see when you arrive in Seoul is the Taewoo Group
headquarters."
"Your choice of location was excellent. The Taewoo Group headquarters truly symbolizes Seoul, doesn't it?"
"That may have been true before, but now it's all too old. There are so many taller buildings
around that it hardly stands as a symbol of Seoul anymore."
My grandfather seemed lost in memories.
But I could sense ambition burning in his eyes.
Having spent nearly sixty years with him in both my previous and current lives, I could tell what emotions he was feeling just by looking into his eyes.
"Are you thinking of relocating the headquarters?"
"They say we're the top business group, but how can employees take pride working in a building inferior to other groups'?"
"Pride doesn't come from the building itself, does it? Higher salaries and better benefits than
other companies are what inspire pride."
"You little rascal! Now you're lecturing me."
Only then did I understand my grandfather's intentions.
He was coveting a new headquarters building.
He definitely wanted to use the tallest building in Korea as the group's new head office.