Andy Rubin.
The developer who created Android.
There was a rumor that before he went to Google, he had approached Ilseong Electronics first.
But Ilseong had ruthlessly ignored him and shown him the door.
In the end, Andy Rubin sold his company to Google.
To be fair, the reason Ilseong Electronics’ executives dismissed him was, on the surface, reasonable.
At the ti, there was no reason to accept Andy Rubin’s proposal—to distribute a brand-new OS with no clear revenue structure to the market.
On top of that, Ilseong Electronics itself was already in the middle of developing its own OS...
Of course, not long after, Ilseong Electronics would co to regret that decision deeply—but at this mont, it was a rational choice.
“This way.”
Chairman Lee Taekgi guided to the conference room and opened the door.
I stepped inside with him. But the mont I entered, I couldn’t help but frown.
The Andy Rubin I saw for the first ti had a flushed face and was clearly worked up, while the executives sitting across from him were laughing and chatting among themselves.
“Ha......”
A sigh escaped , and my head started to ache.
The executives who had been joking around stood up when they saw and Lee Taekgi.
“Oh? Chairman Lee Taekgi. What brings you here......”
Hearing my sigh, Lee Taekgi’s face stiffened. He spoke in a cold voice.
“What exactly are you people doing right now.......”
“It’s not sothing that warrants the chairman coming in person. He was saying ridiculous things, so we were just about to send him back.”
One tactless executive said this with a smile, but the others read the room and shut their mouths tightly.
Looking at them, I spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
“Everyone except Chairman Lee Taekgi and President Hong Seokhyun, leave. Imdiately.”
“What the hell are you! Who do you think you are, barging in here like this, you brat!”
The sa tactless executive pointed a finger at and raised his voice.
At the sa ti, shock appeared on the faces of the other executives who knew who I was, as well as on Hong Seokhyun’s face.
Hong Seokhyun spoke to the executive in a trembling voice.
“You idiot...... Are you insane? Do you even know who that gentleman is, raising your voice like that?”
“What? President, what are you talking about......?”
When Hong Seokhyun looked at him with pitiful eyes, the man finally grew flustered and glanced around. Everyone else was staring at him with stunned expressions.
This is why people with no sense never survive. I lightly shook my head and asked Lee Taekgi.
“Who is that man?”
“Executive Director Han Seokwoo.”
“Has he been with Ilseong Electronics from ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the beginning?”
“Yes. When managent control changed hands this ti, he was internally promoted to executive director to fill the vacant positions.”
When Ilseong Electronics’ managent rights were transferred, most of the executives who had previously run the company were fired.
Lee Taekgi took the chairman’s seat, and to fill the vacancies, he chose internal promotions.
It seed Han Seokwoo, that tactless man, was one of them.
If he’d been promoted internally, he must have so ability...
But soone who muddied the waters like this wouldn’t be able to recognize good ideas even if his subordinates brought them to him.
“Have him submit his resignation today. If he has no sense, he should at least refrain from acting like an old tyrant. Soone that sharp-edged sitting at the top will only create a stiff, suffocating corporate atmosphere.”
I calmly pronounced his death sentence. But Lee Taekgi seed to think differently.
“President Kim Muhyuk. Please forgive him just this once. He’s soone who’s devoted his entire career to the mobile device division. That’s why he was promoted internally this ti......”
I cut Lee Taekgi off coldly.
“Don’t make say it twice. Take his resignation. Or should we run an internal audit instead? That would probably be worse for him.”
“.......”
“Chairman Lee Taekgi. You know I usually don’t interfere in managent. But this ti, you need to listen to .”
At my firm voice, Lee Taekgi let out a deep sigh and spoke to the others.
“President Hong stays. Everyone else, get out. And Executive Director Han, submit your resignation to President Hong. Starting today, don’t co to work anymore.”
“Chairman! What are you saying! You can’t just throw out like this! Just who is that man......!”
“Soone who can take my head off as well. So keep that in mind and leave for now. What are you doing? Why aren’t you taking Executive Director Han out!”
The other executives moved to drag Han Seokwoo out.
“Chairman! Chairman!”
Lee Taekgi closed his eyes and turned his head away, ignoring Han Seokwoo’s desperate cries.
In the end, Han Seokwoo was dragged out of the conference room.
“You seem quite close.”
Seeing how bitter Lee Taekgi looked, I asked quietly.
“......We’ve worked together since he first joined the company. He’s a sha to lose. I never thought he’d be that arrogant and overbearing.”
“You never know a person’s true nature when they’re below you. It shows when they rise to the top.”
“I apologize.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You promoted him based on ability. Just be more careful next ti.”
With the situation more or less settled, I turned my gaze to Andy Rubin.
He was visibly flustered by what had just happened. Looking at him, I asked gently.
“Andy Rubin?”
“Yes. I’m Andy Rubin.”
“You’re the founder of Android, correct?”
“......You know our company?”
Instead of answering, I gave a faint smile and sat down.
Lee Taekgi and Hong Seokhyun sat on either side of .
“Let’s hear it again.”
“.......”
“The people here decide this company’s direction. Forget whatever happened earlier and explain it again.”
“......Are you going to mock again?”
Perhaps recalling what had just happened, anger flared across his face. I replied with an even deeper smile.
“If that were the case, we would’ve sent you back earlier. We need to know what you’re selling before we decide on an investnt, don’t we? Since you’re already here, set your pride aside and let’s talk. Even if Ilseong Electronics refuses to acquire you, I might invest myself.”
“You would invest?”
“Yes. You’ve heard of Dreamhigh, haven’t you? We could invest through Dreamhigh. So think of this as your last chance and give your presentation. I’m curious how you’ve packaged what you’re selling.”
It’s a well-known story that Andy Rubin was rejected by Ilseong Electronics, but what exactly he tried to sell to Ilseong at the ti was never made public.
That’s why I wanted to see it. Android in its raw, unpolished form—before Google acquired it.
At the ntion of Dreamhigh, surprise appeared on Andy’s face. He blankly asked again.
“Dreamhigh?”
“Dreamhigh is the major shareholder of Ilseong Electronics. And I’m here representing Dreamhigh. Is that explanation sufficient?”
“Dreamhigh is investing in us?”
“Yes. But first, we need to know what you’re selling. I already know about Android as a company—that you and a few others banded together to found it. But I don’t know exactly what you’re making. That’s what I plan to hear today. If you don’t like it, you can open the door and leave.”
I deliberately gave him the choice.
But he only alternated his gaze between my hand pointing at the door and my face.
After a mont of hesitation, Andy seed to steel himself and began setting up the materials he’d prepared for the presentation.
While he did, I spoke to Lee Taekgi and Hong Seokhyun beside .
“Ilseong Electronics is developing its own OS as well, correct?”
At my question, Hong Seokhyun answered.
“Yes. Hardware is important, but we believe that owning our own OS is essential for the future.”
I nodded, agreeing with that assessnt.
Apple’s second golden age ca with iOS.
Apple created a closed ecosystem of its own, making it so that once you used an Apple product, you were effectively forced to fill the rest of your devices with Apple products as well.
That maximized Apple’s profitability and ultimately turned it into a global company.
The fact that Ilseong Electronics was thinking along similar lines ant they were identifying the future correctly.
But that was only possible because it was Apple—and Steve Jobs.
There was no way a rigid company like Ilseong could create such an ecosystem.
“How long do you think developnt will take?”
“At least five years, even if everything goes smoothly.”
“That’s too long. Can’t you shorten it by throwing more money at it?”
“It’s not a money issue, it’s a manpower issue...... I’m sorry.”
Countless talented developers in Silicon Valley suddenly ca to mind.
It would be great if we could bring them to Ilseong.
But would those free-spirited people really co to this narrow, rigid Korea?
“I’m ready.”
Andy finished preparing his presentation.
“Good. Let’s hear it.”
For thirty minutes, Andy explained the OS he was developing. I listened without asking a single question.
“That’s all.”
The presentation finally ended, and the lights in the conference room ca back on.
“Hm......”
Perhaps because of my ambiguous reaction, impatience crept onto Andy’s face.
“No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem all that different from BlackBerry’s OS. Isn’t this just a copycat?”
It was completely different from the Android I knew.
What Andy showed us was nothing more than a direct imitation of the BlackBerry OS.
It was Android in na only—a copycat, no more and no less.
At my question, which hit the core of the issue, Andy hurriedly tried to explain.
“No. It may look similar, but it’s a completely different OS. If you look at the internal structure......”
“No. I’m not talking about complex internal architecture. If, to most people, the packaging looks the sa, then it’s a copy and plagiarism.”
Now I understood why Ilseong Electronics had rejected the acquisition.
They were already developing an OS. There was no reason to buy a copycat.
But Google had acquired this Android.
Probably because they wanted Andy Rubin and his partners—so they bought the whole company outright.
“What about the revenue model? If you release the OS as open source and other manufacturers use it to make phones, where do you plan to make money?”
“.......”
On top of that, he hadn’t thought about revenue at all.
All he seed to care about was releasing the OS as open source and increasing market share.
“No company volunteers its resources without a revenue model. That applies not just to Ilseong Electronics, but to every mobile manufacturer out there. Do you know why all phone manufacturers are developing their own OS right now? Because it makes money.”
“That’s why, if we develop it and release it as open source, Android’s developnt speed will increase even more. And once market share grows, a revenue model can always be......”
“You’ll charge money later? You release the OS for free, then later tell people to pay to keep using it? Who would accept that? Can you handle the backlash?”
Andy’s face darkened rapidly. He was a drear with no counterasures.
If Google hadn’t acquired them, Android would have remained just another diocre OS.
“But I can see a revenue model. Even if the OS is open source and free, I see a way to make a profit.”
At my words, Andy’s face brightened.
“We’ll discuss the details later. For now, I don’t think Ilseong Electronics has any reason to acquire this. If Ilseong acquired it, there would be no reason to release it as open source.”
Lee Taekgi and Hong Seokhyun nodded as if it were obvious.
I smiled gently and looked Andy Rubin straight in the eyes.
“Therefore, Dreamhigh will acquire Android. On the condition that all four developers—including you—remain with the company.”
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