Third-Generation Chaebol

The chaos wasn't limited to the INO-PHONE booth.

At the Motorola booth, where they had been preparing to launch their own flip phone early next year, shouts of outrage erupted.

"What the hell is going on?! How did someone else release a flip phone before us?!"

"I'll start investigating immediately."

"Find out which company made this 'INO-PHONE' or whatever it's called! There's no way Steve developed that thing on his own!"

"Understood! I'll move now."

Motorola had declared a state of emergency.

The flip phone they had been planning to unveil at CES next year had just been revealed—by someone else at the IFA in Germany.

Every available employee at headquarters was mobilized to assess the situation.

Meanwhile, Motorola's head of mobile operations, who was present at the expo, received an unexpected answer.

"The INO-PHONE was co-developed by Steve's company, NeXT, and the Taewoo Group."

"Steve partnered with some obscure Asian company? And Taewoo Electronics had practically abandoned the mobile phone market! What the hell is going on?"

"We haven't fully figured that out yet. But INO-PHONE wasn't made by Taewoo Electronics—it was developed by the Taewoo Tech Research Lab. Even Taewoo Electronics' own employees knew almost nothing about it."

"How does that make any sense?! How do you develop a phone without your own company knowing about it?!"

As the head of operations raised his voice, the employee hurriedly provided an additional explanation.

"The entire project was personally led by Taewoo Group's successor."

"Successor? What is this, some kind of monarchy? Why do they even have a 'successor'?!"

"Regardless, the real question is—did they do anything illegal? A company like Taewoo couldn't have just built a flip phone from scratch. Do we have a spy in our ranks?"

"That seems highly unlikely."

"Then explain this! If they didn't steal our tech, how the hell did they develop the INO-PHONE?!"

"Well… They filed a massive number of patents related to flip phones—starting early this year. Actually, they beat us to it."

Motorola's staff were highly competent.

Within just one day, they had compiled a full list of INO-PHONE-related patents.

"So they've already secured all the key patents?"

"Yes. There are some legal loopholes we could exploit, but if we challenge them, we might give Taewoo the perfect excuse to retaliate against our StarTAC launch next year."

"Are you telling me that as long as Taewoo holds the flip phone patents, we can't do anything?"

"That… That's correct. If we abandon the StarTAC launch, it's a different story. But if we go forward with it, we stand to lose more than we gain by filing a dispute."

The head of operations was furious.

But he quickly calmed himself down. He had immense confidence in the StarTAC, the phone he had personally developed.

"It doesn't matter. Our StarTAC is far superior. The moment we launch, INO-PHONE is finished."

"In fact, this might work in our favor. INO-PHONE could help eliminate consumer resistance to flip phones before we enter the market."

But one thing still bothered him.

"I still don't get it. How did Taewoo Group even develop a phone like this?"

"Steve handled the software and production, while Jonathan, the designer behind Apple's MessagePad, led the design. Taewoo Group only provided the factories for mass production."

"So it wasn't Taewoo Electronics—Apple's former talents were behind it. Now that makes more sense."

Even now, Apple still had a stronger reputation than Taewoo Electronics.

"Maybe we should take this opportunity to poach Steve and Jonathan?"

"Would that even be worth it? Sure, they made the INO-PHONE, but they're already outdated figures. A miracle doesn't happen twice."

"Then what do we do about the INO-PHONE?"

"There are only four months left until StarTAC hits the market. Let them enjoy their moment while they can."

The head of Motorola's mobile division decided to erase INO-PHONE from his mind.

He was certain that in just a little more time, everyone else would forget about it too.

After all, StarTAC—a far superior product—was about to launch.

But contrary to his expectations, INO-PHONE's popularity only kept growing.

Not only had it stolen the spotlight at IFA, but it was also making headlines across news outlets, newspapers, and magazines, with media coverage filled with excitement over its debut.

The IFA expo in Germany had ended.

Though it had only lasted a week, the sheer number of meetings and negotiations had left everyone utterly exhausted.

I was no exception. Even Steve, normally full of energy, was leaning back on the couch, taking a rare moment to rest.

"You worked hard, Steve. Thanks to you personally stepping in, the response was even better than I expected."

"That was to be expected. But this kind of reaction only matters if we can carry it over to CES in January."

"Of course, we have to hit another home run. One success could be called luck, but back-to-back home runs? No one would dismiss that as chance. Even the Apple board of directors wouldn't."

"So what you're saying is… if we get the same reaction at CES, my return to Apple becomes a real possibility?"

Steve's longing for Apple was clear.

Seeing the company he founded fall apart without him must have been painful.

"You have to return. No matter what, I'll make sure it happens."

"I'll trust in your confidence. But is there any issue with production? I heard we had a flood of buyers reaching out."

"Supply might fall short of demand. But that's actually a good thing—the more customers want the INO-PHONE, the more valuable it becomes."

"So this is part of your CES strategy?"

"Not entirely, but at the very least, we won't be at a loss."

"Well, I'll leave it to you. I'm heading back to the U.S. now. Time to start working on the software for our CES product."

As expected of a workaholic.

Steve had been the busiest person at the expo.

And yet, instead of taking a break, his first thought was to go straight back to work.

"CES is still a while away. Why not take a trip somewhere?"

Steve fell silent for a moment, then spoke in an unusually serious tone.

"Can I be completely honest with you?"

"You suddenly got serious… now you're making me nervous."

"Right now, I feel like a fraud."

"A fraud?"

"I stood on stage, shouting about how innovative INO-PHONE was. But in reality, it's not truly innovative—it's just a refined version of existing technology with improved performance."

He wasn't wrong.

INO-PHONE wasn't exactly a revolutionary breakthrough. It was more of a shift in perspective, taking what existed and enhancing it.

But when it came to design, it was undeniably different.

And it also included features never before seen in a mobile phone.

"If you're worried about sales, don't be. We already have a massive number of pre-orders. There's no way anyone will call this phone a failure."

"I agree that INO-PHONE is an excellent product. But it's not ahead of its time—it's just the best phone of its time."

"You're saying it lacks new, groundbreaking technology?"

"Exactly. And I already know the product we'll unveil at CES won't be groundbreaking either. That's why we need to be extra meticulous—if we don't want to get ripped apart at CES."

Once again, Steve was right.

The next version of the phone would be a slider phone, and while it had many new features, it wasn't exactly revolutionary.

That didn't mean its performance was lacking compared to other phones.

On the contrary, it included a multitude of features that no other phone had.

But having more features didn't equate to innovation.

For a product to truly be called innovative, it had to incorporate groundbreaking technology that shaped the future.

"I'll be honest with you as well. The next version of our phone won't be a game-changer. But once you return to Apple, the products we create from that point on will truly be worthy of the word 'innovation'."

"I know that too. That's exactly why I'm forcing myself to keep going."

"I'll do everything I can to speed up that timeline."

"Once again, all I can do is trust you. I believe in you."

Steve patted my shoulder, then left the hotel.

Even after his silhouette disappeared, I could still feel the weight of his hand on my shoulder—as if the burden he carried had been passed to me.

***

After the IFA expo in Germany, I returned to Korea.

I headed straight to our group headquarters for a performance review meeting, which my grandfather had scheduled to align with my return.

By the time I arrived, the presidents of our various subsidiaries were already gathered in the conference room.

The moment I took my seat, the chief secretary wasted no time in kicking off the meeting.

"We will now begin the IFA expo performance review. First, General Director Kim Min-jae, please begin your report."

"Our research institute showcased the foldable phone, branded as INO-PHONE, at the IFA expo in Germany. It was selected as the 'Best Product' by the expo's selection committee, and during the event, we secured nearly 200,000 pre-orders."

It was an astounding achievement, one that words could hardly do justice.

The title of 'Best Product' meant that among all the products exhibited at IFA, INO-PHONE was recognized as the best.

And 200,000 pre-orders—it was an unprecedented figure in the history of Taewoo Electronics.

Even Sampjin Electronics, a major competitor, had never received such a large volume of pre-orders.

"Excellent. This is exactly the kind of achievement needed to push Taewoo Group toward global leadership."

"Thank you, Chairman."

My grandfather didn't hold back on his praise.

However, Park Jin-hoon, the president of Taewoo Electronics, was eager to find fault.

"It's a remarkable achievement, but there are still many concerns. INO-PHONE is widely perceived as a product created by Steve of NeXT, rather than a Taewoo Electronics product. In news reports, newspapers, and magazines, our company's name is barely mentioned."

"But Taewoo Electronics stores will be responsible for selling INO-PHONE. Every customer who purchases it will naturally associate it with Taewoo Electronics."

After all, Taewoo Electronics had retail stores all over the world.

Taewoo Electronics had thousands of retail stores across the U.S. and Europe.

When factoring in appliance specialty stores that had partnerships with Taewoo Group, the number exceeded tens of thousands.

"And there's another issue. We're losing too much money on software licensing fees and various royalties."

"That applies to Taewoo Electronics' home appliances as well. Even with these expenses, our profit margins will still be significantly higher than those of home appliances. At least 10% of total revenue will be our share."

Home appliances barely managed to achieve a single-digit profit margin.

In contrast, mobile phones could generate at least double that.

By raising this concern, President Park Jin-hoon was only embarrassing himself.

"Enough. This is not a place for arguments. We are here to report on business matters, not to fight. Keep your voices down."

"I apologize."

With that, the Technology Research Institute's report concluded.

Next was the Taewoo Electronics report, and I seized the moment to go on the offensive.

"Frankly, it was embarrassing. Samsung Electronics, CL Electronics, and Japanese tech companies all showcased products featuring groundbreaking innovations.

Meanwhile, Taewoo Electronics' products focused only on durability, completely covered in outdated technology."

"Director Kim, that's an overly harsh statement."

"Did I say anything untrue?

The Technology Research Institute's mobile phone booth was overflowing with visitors, but the Taewoo Electronics booth was completely deserted.

With all that research funding, what exactly have you been doing?

You should have been developing more innovative, forward-thinking products."

I didn't hold back in tearing into President Park Jin-hoon.

Since I was young, acting too aggressively would typically be seen as disrespectful.

So, I had held back for as long as I could—but now that I had proven my worth with INO-PHONE, there was no reason to stay quiet any longer.