“May I ask why you are investing so much in a cordless vacuum cleaner?”
Han Il-woong looked at Lee Hyun-woo with a puzzled expression.
Lee Hyun-woo asked back as if it was obvious.
“CEO Han, have you ever cleaned your house?”
“Yes? Well… very occasionally…”
In fact, he hardly remembered doing it.
Lee Hyun-woo noticed this but didn’t delve further and explained his reason.
“Then you would know the pain of carrying a vacuum cleaner around after plugging it in. It’s not only annoying but also tiring. I don’t know how big your house is, but even for a standard 20-pyeong (about 66 square meters) house, it’s tough. Everyone feels the same way, so I thought, why not make a vacuum cleaner that alleviates this inconvenience? But since our company is not a manufacturer, we had to look for another company. The principles of a vacuum cleaner and a fan are quite similar, so we looked for a fan manufacturing company and eventually met the CEO of 【Ilhan Electric】, which is advantageous in cost reduction.”
“I see…”
Edison once said that innovation is born to make inconvenience convenient.
It was a very simple truth, but few people actually put it into practice.
Why? Because they lacked the courage to turn their thoughts into action.
In that sense, Han Il-woong couldn’t help but admire Lee Hyun-woo’s courage internally.
And he too decided to be brave.
“I 100% agree with your idea, Chairman. In that sense, I also want to share the profit and loss.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t want 【Jungle】 to bear all the losses alone.”
“Oh… yes…”
“Our company will also invest in the development of that vacuum cleaner.”
“Wait a minute. But to develop a new product, you need to persuade the management and the board of directors, don’t you?”
“Well, yes. Since we are a listed company.”
“That’s why I am investing first. It will make persuasion easier.”
“But still… how can 【Jungle】 alone…”
“It seems you are misunderstanding, it’s not 【Jungle】 investing, it’s me personally. We are also a listed company, so I have to persuade the management.”
Of course, if Lee Hyun-woo says it, persuasion might not be that difficult, even if it’s somewhat absurd.
Until now, Lee Hyun-woo had always led the way to success.
Therefore, even though this vacuum cleaner was unrelated to IT, they would agree, thinking he must have made separate arrangements.
However, it still required going through meetings and informing shareholders, which might make them concerned.
So he decided to invest alone.
He had plenty of money.
After selling his shares during the IPO, he became immensely wealthy.
‘If Han Il-woong has to go through meetings after meetings, there’s no point in choosing 【Ilhan Electric】.’
He was eager to see the product as soon as possible.
Even if Lee Hyun-woo invested alone, if it were a large corporation, things wouldn’t proceed smoothly.
Large corporations start and end with meetings and begin modifying plans if any risks are discovered.
This process is endless.
However, it’s different for a mid-sized company.
Sometimes, even a decision by the company president alone doesn’t meet much opposition.
Lee Hyun-woo decided to take the loss and invest directly to reduce opposition and speed up product development.
“Instead, if this product sells well and you plan to release it in Korea, please exclusively sell it through our 【Jungle Shopping】.”
“Oh, of course, we should do that.”
“Then that’s it. Please hurry. As quickly as possible.”
In the end, Lee Hyun-woo persuaded Han Il-woong and instructed Han Se-jin to secure a temporary research lab nearby.
Thus, the research lab for 【Ilhan Electric】’s cordless vacuum cleaner was born, almost as quickly as roasting beans over a lightning fire.
And within a month, the first experimental result came out, which Han Il-woong personally brought to Lee Hyun-woo.
Lee Hyun-woo, delighted, tested it in front of Han Il-woong.
But he showed a slightly dissatisfied expression while watching the vacuum cleaner suck up dust with a “whirr” sound.
“Hmm, the suction power is weaker than expected.”
It seemed to be due to the motor.
Han Il-woong blamed the motor for it.
“It’s stronger than existing cordless vacuum cleaners, but there’s still a limit to the motor.”
“Where is this motor from?”
“We developed it ourselves.”
“It needs to be more powerful.”
“Yes, I suppose so?”
“It should be at least comparable to a corded vacuum cleaner.”
“Yes, we will focus more on motor development. How do you find the design?”
Han Il-woong’s reason for asking about the design was simple.
Every time they talked on the phone over the past month, Lee Hyun-woo emphasized the design.
This was because the vacuum cleaners originally made by 【Tison】 were praised for their design more than their performance.
The CEO of that company had majored in industrial design.
If such a vacuum cleaner came out this time, he would have bought it immediately, but recently Lee Hyun-woo found out that 【Tison】 had gone bankrupt.
So he had no choice but to rely entirely on 【Ilhan Electric】 now.
Fortunately, it was made somewhat similar to the design he emphasized.
“Not bad. But it’s too heavy.”
“Is that so? If it gets any lighter, it might break…”
“Where do you get the plastic from?”
“From 【Elle Chemical】.”
“【Duksung General Chemical】’s plastic is stronger and lighter. I found out they released a new product recently.”
Han Il-woong’s expression showed admiration.
‘He checks everything so meticulously.’
He had heard about it too. But when making this experimental product, that plastic wasn’t available.
“As far as I know, 【Duksung】 will make the best plastic from now on. The new president is a plastic expert with a philosophy.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I heard it from someone else. Anyway, I hope the next experimental product is much better.”
“Yes, I will do my best.”
“By the way, can I take this one to use?”
“Of course.”
Despite its expected performance and heaviness, Lee Hyun-woo thought this cordless vacuum cleaner was usable.
‘Ah-young would have a hard time carrying this around. But I can.’
From that day, cleaning became easier, but another drawback was discovered.
‘I need to charge it often.’
Of course, it was due to the battery performance. This would improve over time, but for now, it was a limitation.
“Sigh… I knew it wouldn’t be easy to make something.”
He knew it, but it was more difficult than expected, making him sigh.
At least things were progressing smoothly with the industrial complex project in Jeju Island, as domestic companies announced one after another their intention to reside there.
Not only the members of the 21st Century Venture Business Association who visited recently but now even large corporations were turning their attention.
First, several affiliates of 【Guseong】 announced they would set up research labs in Jeju Island.
‘Did my father-in-law or brother-in-law consider my situation?’
To be precise, it seemed they were trying to make a good impression on Lee Hyun-woo for the happiness of their daughter and sister, Kim Ah-young.
They must have heard rumors that Lee Hyun-woo was collaborating with Jeju Island to attract research labs from various companies.
Anyway, with 【Guseong】’s decision, news came out that their rival company 【GB】 was also discussing the matter.
In addition, there were reports that other large corporations were also looking into the Jeju Island industrial complex for research and development.
He thought perhaps the governor of Jeju Island was working hard to bring these companies in.
‘Well, if I’m working hard, you should work even harder.’
Whether it was a result of this or not, well-packaged articles came out.
“Jeju Island Industrial Complex, Emerging as the Mecca of Research and Development?”
If things progressed as decided by each company, he didn’t think the reports were exaggerated.
But then, an event that definitively fueled this situation occurred.
No, it was planned, but Jamie Wang’s visit to Jeju Island was the event.
Of course, it was at Lee Hyun-woo’s request, but in a meeting arranged with the governor of Jeju Island, Jamie Wang positively mentioned setting up a research lab in the Jeju Island industrial complex before leaving.
Governor Goo Chang-mo spread this to the media, causing another uproar.
The media reported as if 【Yaho】 would set up its nest in the Jeju Island industrial complex as early as tomorrow.
If this report turned out false, the disappointment would be as great as the expectation.
(It’s me, Jamie Wang. I’m contacting you to confirm the Jeju Island research lab. I wanted to inform you first.)
“That’s great news. A wise choice. Hahaha.”
Lee Hyun-woo and Goo Chang-mo achieved what they wanted.
Attracting even one company that dominated Silicon Valley had a huge impact.
Of course, 【Yaho】’s decision was due to 【Jungle】.
Since the two companies had established a competitive yet cooperative relationship in many areas, Jamie Wang seemed to think that if the research and development facilities were close, they could achieve more synergy.
Anyway, with 【Yaho】’s confirmation, the media reported it even more sensationally.
However, this was relatively weak good news compared to the following news.
“Jeju Island Industrial Complex to Host 【Macro Soft】 Research Lab!”
This was also decided after 【Macro Soft】’s CEO Steven Ballmer and Chairman Billy Gates visited Lee Hyun-woo.
Lee Hyun-woo didn’t say much. He just suggested that they join and work together to make Jeju Island like Silicon Valley.
He was already content with the benefits of securing 【Yaho】 in the industrial complex, so he thought attracting 【Macro Soft】 was too greedy.
But Steven Ballmer took the offer readily.
Perhaps it was because of the signs of the impending success of 【Jungle】’s e-book reader in both Korea and the US.
When Lee Hyun-woo makes a move, he turns dreams into reality.
So, they might have thought that Jeju Island industrial complex could also become like Silicon Valley someday, and decided to prepare early to hire Korean IT talents.
It was Lee Hyun-woo’s guess, but Steven Jobs, who visited afterward, revealed the answer.
“I heard IT geniuses from Korea will gather in Jeju Island?”
Lee Hyun-woo nodded shamelessly.
“Did Billy tell you? Of course. I plan to scout them all. Even if not, now that three world-leading IT companies are gathering, they will voluntarily land in Jeju Island.”
“Damn, hearing that, we can’t just sit back.”
In the end, Steven Jobs also confirmed the entry of his research lab in Jeju Island and left.
“Jeju Silicon Beach is no longer just a dream.”
