"Brother Jae-yong, if Samsung Electronics continues to be a follower in the smartphone industry, it will never be able to take the throne of the consumer electronics industry. Samsung Electronics may be able to produce a smartphone comparable to the Galaxy S1 in two or three months."
“However, we at Gaojin Electronics have always had the habit of designing, developing and releasing one generation of products. When you see the Galaxy S1 series of smartphones, the research and development of the Galaxy S2 has entered a critical stage, and we will apply more emerging technologies to the Galaxy S2. I hope that Samsung and LG will join the smartphone lineup as soon as possible, so as to promote faster development of the mobile phone industry.” Song Yi's answer was very appropriate. Unlike before, Chen Zairong was also his brother-in-law, so he still had to give Chen Zairong some face.
After Chen Zairong left, Ju Guangmo also walked up to Song Yi and congratulated him, "Gaokin Electronics has given us a huge surprise this time. I believe that many media will start reporting on the Galaxy S1 smartphone tomorrow. Gaojin Electronics has a very mature and large technical team. If you hadn't personally promoted the Galaxy S1 project, I estimate that it would take at least two or three years before the Galaxy S1 phone came out."
Song Yi smiled and did not respond to Gu Guangmo's question. Although LG Group and SA Group are allies, LG Electronics provides mobile phone screens for Galaxy S1 mobile phones, LG Chem provides batteries for Galaxy S1 mobile phones, and the memory chips of Galaxy S1 series mobile phones are also provided by Liangxi wafer factory in mainland China.
The more successful the Galaxy S1 series of mobile phones are in sales, the more profits LG Group will get from SA Group. Gu Guangmo certainly hopes that the debut of the Galaxy S1 series of mobile phones will be successful, but if the Galaxy S1 series of mobile phones is too successful, and if it shakes LG Electronics' position as the world's fifth largest mobile phone manufacturer, Gu Guangmo will feel pressure. This is probably because he is afraid that his brother will suffer, and he is even more afraid that his brother will drive a Land Rover.
Moreover, Gu Guangmo also knew that Gaojin Electronics would sooner or later enter the research and development of mobile phone screens and mobile phone batteries. In the future, all Galaxy series mobile phones would use mobile phone screens or mobile phone batteries independently produced by Gaojin Electronics. Only in this way could it earn almost all the profits of the mobile phone industry chain like Samsung Electronics.
Song Yi knew what Gu Guangmo was worried about and gave him a reassurance, "Guangmo, I know that there are many disagreements within the LG Group regarding the cooperative relationship between LG and SA. It was Chairman Gu and you who insisted on it."
"In addition to smartphones, we SA are also preparing to start research and development of electric vehicles. At that time, our SA electric vehicles will continue to purchase battery packs from LG Chem. I hope that the relationship between our SA Group and LG Group can be maintained within the basic framework of 'seeking common ground while reserving differences and common development'." Song Yi said.
When Ju Guangmo heard what Song Yi said, he understood what he meant. No matter how the SA Group develops, it will always pay attention to maintaining a good cooperative relationship with the LG Group.
Ju Guangmo shook hands with Song Yi. "I am now the son-in-law of SA Group, so I naturally hope that LG and SA can coexist peacefully. Just like you said, the way out for Korean conglomerates is outside, not inside. The Korean market is so small that no matter how much we explore it, there is not much potential. We, LG and SA, still need to help each other in the overseas market and keep each other warm."
Zhou Zhiyi was a little unhappy when she heard what Ju Guangmo said. "Husband, what do you mean by being the son-in-law of SA Group? You are the son-in-law of SA Group. My mother is the vice president of SA Group, and I am the director of SA Group. I am the bridge of communication between LG and SA. We are one family, and we should be harmonious and make fortune together."
Most of the other media at the press conference had already left, with only Dong-A Ilbo and ABS TV staying at the end. Lee Hyun-jin wanted to complete an exclusive interview with Song Yi, and Jang Eun-young wanted to say hello to Song Yi before leaving.
Seeing that ABS TV station had not left yet, Zhang Enying knew that Song Yi would definitely leave this interview opportunity to ABS TV station, and she couldn't help feeling a little regretful.
Gaojin Electronics released the world's first touch screen, keyboard-less smartphone Galaxy S1 at its autumn new product launch conference tonight. The launch of this phone is sensational and will definitely make headlines in the three major newspapers.
If Dong-A Ilbo can complete an exclusive interview with Song Yi before Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo, it will definitely attract a lot of readers and even bring new subscribers to Dong-A Ilbo.
Choi Won-suk has faded out of the management of Dong-A Ilbo, and the power of Dong-A Ilbo has been transferred from Choi Won-suk to Jang Eun-young.
As the actual manager of the newspaper, Zhang Enying naturally wants to develop Dong-A Ilbo into the largest newspaper in South Korea. From any perspective, Zhang Enying needs to continue to maintain a good relationship with Song Yi.
Zhang Enying found the right opportunity to say goodbye to Song Yi. She shook hands with Song Yi reluctantly and her middle finger slipped across Song Yi's palm. "President Song, today's summer new product launch of Gaojin Electronics really impressed me. If I can't grab the Galaxy S1 phone on the official website, I hope President Song can do me a favor and let me become one of the first users of Galaxy S1."
Song Yi had to give Zhang Enying this face. "The main problem with Galaxy S1 right now is insufficient production capacity. Luxshare Technology in the mainland has already started using spare production lines and is working overtime to produce Galaxy S1 phones. When this batch of phones passes through customs and arrives in Korea, I will definitely reserve two for you."
Zhang Enying saw Song Yi was so tactful and smiled. Seeing that there was no one around, she said to Song Yi: "Thank you, President Song. I will bring Shan Ji to visit you in a few days. The direction of cooperation between Dong-A Ilbo and ABS TV station still needs your decision. After all, you are Shan Ji's 'father'."
After Zhang Enying left, ABS TV officially began the interview with Song Yi. Lee Hyun-jin, who was wearing a suit, and Song Yi sat on the coffee table to start the interview. On the white coffee table was a Galaxy S1 phone, which was placed vertically on a stand.
"Hello, Chairman Song, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to accept an exclusive interview with our ABS TV station. First of all, my first question is, when did the Galaxy S1 mobile phone project start? Can you tell us about it?" asked Li Xianzhen.
"Actually, this idea came up a long time ago, around 1997 or 1998. The actual research and development started around 2002," Song Yi replied.
"It took Gaojin Electronics four years to hone its skills. The Galaxy S1 has given consumers a big surprise as soon as it came out. Compared with traditional mobile phones, the Galaxy S1 has a larger screen and is more entertaining."
"From your perspective, do you think the Galaxy S1 is currently an entertainment tool or a productivity tool?" Li Xianzhen continued to ask questions.
"The current Galaxy S1 phone is an entertainment and learning tool. You can listen to music, watch movies, play games, or log on to social networking sites and browse the latest information on the Galaxy S1 phone. However, the Galaxy S1 phone cannot produce videos, pictures, text or tables for the time being, so it cannot be considered a productivity tool." Song Yi made his judgment.
Li Xianzhen continued to ask, "You are talking about temporary. In the future, Galaxy series phones will gradually transition from entertainment and learning tools to productive work. This means that Galaxy series phones will become a necessary tool for people's entertainment, learning and work, just like computers. If the rise of Galaxy series phones means the decline of PCs?"
When Song Yi heard Li Xianzhen ask this, he looked at her. This question was an impromptu question from Li Xianzhen and was not included in today's interview plan.
"I think the rise of smartphones, such as the Galaxy series, will replace some of the functions of computers, but it is difficult to completely replace computers. Just like the rise of PCs, it did not completely make TVs bid farewell to the living room at home."
"As time goes by, there will be smartphones with larger screens, more memory and higher-performance processors. We have already started trying to port KartRider to the Galaxy series of phones."
"Since the Galaxy series of mobile phones can run large-scale PC games like KartRider, professional production tools like Office and Adobe can be ported to the SuperOS system. At that time, the Galaxy series of mobile phones can replace some of the work of PC computers." Song Yi said.
Li Xianzhen heard it and continued to ask a key question, "You mean that the SuperOS system is not a closed mobile phone system, and Gaojin Electronics will also cooperate with other manufacturers such as Microsoft, right?"
Song Yi replied, "SuperOS has never been a closed mobile phone system. We also welcome other manufacturers, studios or individual developers to cooperate with SuperOS. SuperOS will release more and more games developed by other game manufacturers."
Li Xianzhen continued to ask, "If other mobile phone manufacturers want to enter the smartphone industry, they don't have the time and energy to build a mobile phone operating system comparable to SuperOS. Is Gaojin Electronics willing to open the SuperOS system to such mobile phone manufacturers?"
"In addition to Windows, there are also Apple's macOS and Linux operating systems for PCs. SuperOS is still very immature and is a bit similar to the early macOS. When the time is right, SuperOS will consider open source." Song Yi did not avoid the question.
"Thank you, Chairman Song. Let me ask a question that everyone is most concerned about. At the new product launch conference, the Galaxy S1 phone fell to the ground. Was it an established procedure of the conference or was it an idea you had?" Li Xianzhen asked.
"There was no phone throwing scene during the autumn new product launch, at least my assistant was not aware of it. I would like to apologize to her here. She seemed to be really scared. If the phone fell to the ground and the screen cracked, then this autumn new product launch would have become a disaster for Gaojin Electronics." Song Yi gave the answer.
Song Yi picked up the mobile phone on the coffee table and handed it to Li Xianzhen. Li Xianzhen looked at the phone carefully and confirmed the presence of the tempered glass film.
"Indeed, if you don't pick up the phone, you can't see the tempered film at all. The most amazing thing is that this tempered film does not affect the touch of the Galaxy S1. Users can still use their phones normally." said Li Xianzhen.
"That's right. The Galaxy S1 is on sale. In the box is a Galaxy S1, a 3.5mm wired headset, a charging head, a USB cable, and two tempered glass films."
"There are operation videos teaching users how to apply tempered glass on the Gaojin Electronics official website and inschool homepage. As long as they take some time to watch the video, they will know how to apply the tempered glass." Song Yi reminded.
"In fact, there are many users who pursue the feel of a bare-metal machine. What suggestions do you have for these bare-metal machine users?" Li Xianzhen asked.
"The Galaxy S1 screen is just a 3.5-inch LCD screen, and its material is actually not much different from an LCD TV screen."
"Unlike a TV that is fixed to the wall, your phone needs to be carried with you. If you hit the TV screen with a stone or scratch it with a key, it will still break."
"For users who pursue the feel of a bare phone, I hope they don't put their phones and keys in the same pocket to avoid scratches by the keys. In particular, avoid the phone screen from hitting sharp objects, and don't challenge the hardness of the screen. After all, replacing a screen is quite expensive." Song Yi joked.
Li Xianzhen stood up and shook hands with Song Yi. "Thank you, President Song. Today's interview ends here. Thank you, President Song, for patiently answering our questions. I also wish the Galaxy S1 series of mobile phones will sell well."
Song Yi's interview soon appeared on the official website of ABS TV and was then reposted on various websites. After Steve Jobs watched Gaojin Electronics' autumn new product launch and Song Yi's interview, his face turned pale.
Apple originally planned to hold a product launch event in January 2007 to release the first generation of iPhone. However, before Apple's iPhone was officially launched, Gaojin Electronics' Galaxy S1 was already on sale.
Steve Jobs originally thought that the iPhone was the world's first smartphone to use a capacitive touch screen, but who knew that the Galaxy S1 released by Gaojin Electronics was actually released earlier. Moreover, the Galaxy S1 series of mobile phones is obviously more technologically mature than the first generation iPhone that Apple was developing.
The Galaxy S1 series of phones already support 3G networks. Users who have successfully grabbed Galaxy S1 series phones have posted their Galaxy S1 phones on the inschool website, with a 3G network prompt on the phone screen. The Galaxy S1 series of phones also reminds users whether to activate the 3G network, which provides faster network services and may incur higher network charges.
The first generation iPhone that Apple was developing did not support 3G networks, but only 2G networks. Steve Jobs and Apple's chief designer Jonathan Ive hoped to use a metal body on the iPhone, which would make the phone more textured. However, Apple has not been able to solve the communication problem of the metal body, after all, the metal body is easy to block signals, and Jobs did not know how Gaojin Electronics solved this technical pain point.
Steve Jobs had no choice but to postpone the iPhone launch in January. The first iPhone could temporarily not have a metal body, but it had to support 3G networks. If the iPhone produced by Apple could not compete with the Galaxy S1 series of mobile phones, then the launch of the iPhone would be meaningless.
On October 21, SA Group announced that the first-week sales of Galaxy S1 mobile phones reached 1.2 million. Even if calculated based on the lowest price of $499, the Galaxy S1 series of mobile phones has brought SA Group at least $600 million in revenue. SA Group has made a lot of money this time! After the first-week sales of Galaxy S1 series of mobile phones were announced, SA Group's stock price rose for many days.
On October 31, SA Group announced that it had purchased 34% of Dong-A Group's shares at a price of 160 billion won, becoming Dong-A Group's largest shareholder.
On the same day, Choi Won-suk, Chairman of the East-A Group, resigned from the position of Chairman of the East-A Group due to health reasons. After voting by the East-A Group Board of Directors, Mrs. Zhang Enying, the wife of the Chairman of the East-A Group, became the Executive Chairman of the East-A Group and concurrently the President of the Dong-A Ilbo.
In mid-November, SA Media Group was officially established, with Ms. Choi Sun-hee, president of ABS TV and director of SA Group, as the president of SA Media Group.
SA Media Group includes SA Agency, the largest agency in South Korea, SA Music, the second largest entertainment company in South Korea, HugeDream Cinemas, the largest cinema company in South Korea, SA Pictures, the largest film company in South Korea, ABS TV, the fourth largest TV station in South Korea, SA Planning, the fifth largest advertising company in South Korea, and Dong-A Ilbo, the second largest newspaper in South Korea.
In order to comply with regulatory policies, SA Media Group officially announced its separation from SA Group and became a media group company with independent operations and separate financial accounting. SA Group was split into two, SA Group and SA Media Group, two listed companies. The former is named SA Group and the latter is named SA Media Group. SA Media Group's market value exceeds 10 trillion won, ranking 12th in South Korea. JoongAng Ilbo commented that the establishment of SA Media Group is no less significant than the separation of JoongAng Ilbo Group from Samsung Group in the 1990s. However, the relationship between SA Media Group and SA Group is obviously closer than that between JoongAng Ilbo Group and Samsung Group.
SA Media Group board members include ABS President Choi Sun-hee, SA Films’ Kim Woo-taek, Dong-A Ilbo’s Jang Eun-young, SA Music President Gil Jong-hwa, SA Planning President Chen Jae-chan, SA Brokerage President Kim Min-sook and HugeDream Cinemas President Kim Tae-hee.
After SA Pictures spun off HugeDream Cinemas, Kim Tae-hee officially took over as president of HugeDream Cinemas.
Kim Tae-hee announced her resignation as chairman of the SA Welfare Foundation and will be succeeded by Ms. Kim Hee-won, chairman of the SA Sports Foundation. Kim Hee-won manages both the SA Welfare Foundation and the SA Sports Foundation.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the reason why Kim Tae-hee took over as president of HugeDream Cinemas is to help Song Yi firmly control SA Media, the largest media group in South Korea.
Choi Sun-hee is the chairman of SA Media Group, Kim Woo-taek is the executive vice chairman of SA Media Group, and Kim Tae-hee is the director of SA Media Group. These three people are the core of power of SA Media Group.
On January 3, 2007, Gaojin Electronics announced again that the sales of Galaxy S1 series mobile phones officially exceeded 5 million units, and the sales of this series of mobile phones are expected to exceed 10 million units. The sales of Superalloy sports bracelets exceeded 2 million units.
After the news about Gaojin Electronics was announced, SA Group's stock price soared again, and the company's total market value officially exceeded one hundred trillion won, becoming another super large enterprise with a market value of more than one hundred trillion won after Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor.
SA Group has officially surpassed SK Group to become the third largest conglomerate in South Korea!
When the Shin-Asia Group and Asan Group merged, it was incredible that SA Group became the tenth largest conglomerate in South Korea.
The hot sales of the Galaxy S1 series of smartphones released by Gaojin Electronics directly caused the SA Group's market value to soar by 400%, from 20 trillion won to the current 100 trillion won.
Now Koreans have only one question in their minds: it is only a matter of time before SA Group surpasses Hyundai Motor. After all, the market value of the two is not much different, and the gap is only one or two SA media groups.
The problem is that the market value of Samsung Electronics is almost equivalent to 2.5 SA Groups. When will SA Group be able to overthrow Samsung Electronics and become the number one company in South Korea? The surge in the market value of SA Group has also led to a rapid growth in Song Yi's personal wealth. The market value of various stocks under his name exceeds 30 billion US dollars, and his apparent wealth has exceeded that of Hong Kong Island's richest man, Lee Chao-man. If the SA Group's stock price can be stabilized, then in the 2007 Forbes Rich List, Song Yi will have the hope of entering the top ten of the world's richest people. At the age of 30, Song Yi has become the richest man in Asia! The sales of the first generation iPhone were 1.7 million units. It did not support 3G, had poor signal, and had no metal body. The overall sales of the first generation iPhone were 5 million units, so it is not outrageous that the sales of Galaxy S1 exceeded 5 million.
(End of this chapter)