What does it mean to think on the scale of an oil tycoon?
I listened closely as Governor Abdulaziz spoke about the scale of electric vehicle infrastructure investment.
"Through Taewoo Refining, Aramco will cover half the cost of building charging stations in Korea. And through our gas stations and refineries operating in the United States, we'll also install charging stations in major U.S. cities."
"You're even supporting infrastructure in the United States? Thank you so much."
Of course, I'd have to hand over half the equity in the charging stations.
But since all the equipment going into those charging stations would be manufactured by us, the terms were still in our favor.
Just achieving this much made the trip to Saudi Arabia worthwhile.
Yet Governor Abdulaziz wasn't finished.
"And we'll transform the entire city of Riyadh into a city for electric cars. By the authority of the governor's office, every building will be equipped with chargers, and alongside subsidies for electric cars, we'll cover all the costs of installing charging stations at major locations."
"Even though proper electric cars haven't really been released yet, are you sure this is alright?"
"This is a business I trust you to carry forward. I've long wanted to do real business with Taewoo Group. If we let this chance slip by, when will we get another opportunity to work together?"
Abdulaziz was only a few years away from ascending to Crown Prince.
With someone like him offering full support, there was no reason to refuse.
"I'll make Riyadh the world's first electric vehicle city."
"And if you ever come across another good business opportunity, tell me right away. I know you like working with Wall Street. But Saudi Arabia can be an even better business partner than Wall Street."
"I'll keep that in mind. From now on, if I come across promising ventures, I'll consult Saudi Arabia first."
"If you ever feel the communication channels are too complicated, you can always contact me through Muhammad."
At that, Prince bin Salman's eyes lit up.
He was fresh out of university, brimming with ambition, so it was no surprise.
"Then I'll coordinate with Muhammad on that matter."
"Good. You young men should handle it together. I'll step aside now."
Governor Abdulaziz rose from his seat and walked out.
Only then did bin Salman let out a deep breath and greet me with a mischievous smile.
"How have you been? In front of my father, I couldn't speak to you the way I used to."
"Of course I've been well. And you know it already. You probably know more about my situation than some of my own executives."
I made sure to speak with bin Salman at least once a month.
It was a matter of maintaining connections, and there was nothing to lose by scoring points early with the man who would one day rule Saudi Arabia.
"But do you really think the electric vehicle paradigm will come? Like the smartphone revolution?"
"It'll come in a different way than smartphones. Not with explosive growth, but it will steadily eat into the share of internal combustion vehicles."
"How much do you think the electric vehicle market can grow?"
"Within twenty years, it'll take up sixty percent of the auto market. So if you invest now, you won't lose."
Bin Salman's mouth fell open.
He seemed to find it hard to believe that EVs wouldn't just cut into the share of combustion engines but eventually surpass them.
"Even if it reaches only half of what you predict, that alone would change the entire paradigm of the automobile market."
"But it will take twenty years. To shorten that timeline, we need to build as much infrastructure as possible across countries and cities."
"I'll talk to my father and try to persuade him to push for mass construction of EV charging stations in Europe as well."
"We've already reached some agreements with the governments of the U.S. and Europe, so we may even get partial subsidies for charging station costs."
"If government money comes in too, then there's no reason to hesitate!"
Bin Salman was even more proactive than I was.
He even seemed to be thinking of taking the lead in the EV charging station business himself.
"Let's stop talking business and switch topics. Are you still obsessed with football these days?"
"I've been too busy to watch as much as before. But I still catch the important matches. Just wait and see. Once I move into a key position, I'll buy an EPL club myself!"
If anyone else had said that, I would have laughed it off.
But this was the son of the soon-to-be Crown Prince, and within ten years, bin Salman himself would be Crown Prince.
Once he ascended, buying an English Premier League team would be nothing to him.
"Alright, grow up fast and become an EPL club owner."
"And when I do, you'll buy a club too, right?"
"We'll see. If Taewoo Group doubles in size, there's no reason I couldn't own an EPL club."
We chatted idly about various things.
The conversation was meant to strengthen my bond with bin Salman, so I steered it toward topics he liked.
That too was part of business.
It was an investment I had to make for the future—one that cost me nothing but words.
After finishing my schedule in Saudi Arabia, I returned to Korea.
It had only been a short three-day, two-night trip, but a lot had happened in the meantime.
"The swine flu mutation project team has developed a treatment for the mutated virus that appeared in Mexico. They've named it Tamiflu-M, and it's set to undergo FDA review this week."
"They've already succeeded in developing a treatment?"
"They say it was relatively easy to create since the mutated virus structure isn't much different from that of swine flu."
They called it "easy," but developing a treatment for a mutated virus this quickly was nearly impossible.
If it had really been so easy, the world's top pharmaceutical companies would have made it already.
"The AI team really pulled off something remarkable."
"But since the number of infected cases is small, there's virtually no commercial value. And because patients still recover, albeit more slowly, with regular Tamiflu, Centurion is debating whether Tamiflu-M is worth releasing."
As the planning director said, the commercial potential seemed low.
There are countless viruses in the world, but treatments for diseases that don't make money rarely get developed.
Pharmaceutical companies, after all, are still businesses.
And businesses exist to make money.
Still, for Centurion, as a new company, revenue was important, but so was raising recognition.
"Go ahead with the release. Just securing FDA approval and launching will greatly increase Centurion's corporate value. And even if only a small amount goes to market, it will establish us as a genuine pharmaceutical company, not a copycat or subcontractor."
"Then I'll order production of Tamiflu-M, even if it means taking a loss."
"Considering Tamiflu's sales, the loss won't be that large. It's a cost well worth bearing."
Was that the end of the reports?
The planning director slid over another document and continued.
"The e-commerce platform Rocket has completed preparations for launch. Large warehouses have been secured in the capital region and major metropolitan cities, and they've already been fully stocked with goods."
"That was faster than I expected. But the warehouses are already filled?"
"Team Leader Cheon Minjung, with Amazon's help, analyzed big data from the internet, social media, and large supermarkets. Using that, she built an algorithm that updates frequently used product categories and quantities on a cycle. That's how we determined what to stock in the warehouses."
In distribution, everything ultimately came down to inventory.
Bad inventory didn't just drag down sales—it also took up space and blocked new products from being stocked.
That's why distribution companies always paid close attention to inventory management.
But Cheon Minjung and the AI team had developed an algorithm that handled inventory management automatically.
Of course, it was only possible with Amazon's assistance.
"If it's an algorithm created by Team Leader Cheon Minjung's group, we can trust it. How are you planning the promotions?"
"We've mobilized every promotional channel available—TV commercials, portal sites, and social media. We've also prepared a massive opening discount campaign."
The e-commerce market was essentially a game of chicken.
From the very beginning, you had to push aggressively. That way, competitors would be forced to respond just as aggressively, and that was how you crushed them.
"Is the membership program well prepared?"
"Yes. The first three months are free upon signup, and starting from the fourth month, the fee will be 8,900 won."
"Hmm. 8,900 won isn't exactly a small amount. To get people to sign up, you'll need plenty of benefits."
"We've prepared to give out various coupons exclusively to members."
Would coupons alone be enough?
Membership services with recurring monthly fees always had a high barrier to entry.
To lower that barrier, subscribers had to feel they were clearly gaining value, and for that, the benefits had to be very aggressive.
"Offer membership-exclusive discounts not just on coupons, but also for music streaming services, OTT platforms, and Taewoo Telecom bills."
"That would be too great a loss on our side. The more members we attract, the more the deficits will pile up."
"That's why we spread the risk. If Taewoo Telecom, Taewoo IT, and the OTT platforms all share the burden, we can expand the benefits while reducing Rocket's share of the losses."
It was the kind of chicken game only Taewoo Group could play.
What other e-commerce company could drag in music streaming, OTT, and telecom services to wage a price war?
From the customer's perspective, membership would bring benefits worth far more than 8,900 won. There would be no reason not to join.
"Even if we win the chicken game, if we keep these benefits as they are, Rocket will never escape the red."
"Of course, once we win the chicken game, we'll scale back the benefits and raise prices. If we reduce the perks slowly enough, customers won't complain much. By then, they'll already be addicted to same-day delivery."
"In that case, it would be better to endure even bigger losses upfront and end the chicken game as quickly as possible."
At last, a planning director who understood me.
If a price war dragged on, customers might benefit, but e-commerce companies would bleed dry.
So, for everyone's sake, it was better to end things with a single decisive strike.
"It would also be good to include Taewoo Electronics' home appliances in the membership benefits. Make it so members can purchase appliances at cheaper prices, and also allow them to buy games on our platform at a discount."
"Benefits alone aren't enough. To dominate the market, we need products superior to our competitors' and faster delivery on top of that."
"Understood. Amazon has already built us a logistics system, so there shouldn't be major issues, but the planning office will keep a close eye and continue monitoring."
Amazon had already conquered the U.S. market.
Rocket had imported every bit of their know-how, from start to finish.
The system we'd applied was flawless, but even so, there was always the chance of unexpected problems, so close oversight was essential.
"Any other issues?"
"There's some good news. Taewoo-Kia Motors has completed the Apple Car. Mass production preparations are underway, and the factories can begin operating by the end of the year."
"With the product complete, now all that remains is proper promotion."
Promotional plans for the Apple Car had already been finalized.
As with any product, marketing had to hit the target audience directly.
That meant aiming for customers most likely to buy electric cars, and we had already secured slots at the events that drew the most attention from that group.