**Chapter 1228: Internal Implosion**
If the puzzle of this special material couldn’t be solved, it would be impossible to manufacture memory chips at the same cost.
And without matching that cost, there was no way to compete in the market. After all, even if you held a gun to a capitalist’s head, they wouldn’t willingly buy more expensive products.
This allowed Jiangnan Group’s memory chips to completely dominate the global market. Later, to mitigate certain regulatory risks, these chips were sold exclusively in the Chinese market, deliberately avoiding other regions. Any previously established markets were withdrawn.
Of course, this didn’t mean Jiangnan Group refused to sell to foreign companies—it simply meant there were no local distributors or sales channels in those countries. If foreign firms wanted to purchase the chips, they had to come to China and negotiate directly with Jiangnan Group or its authorized dealers. This cleverly circumvented investigations from certain nations.
*If we’re not even selling in your country, what right do you have to investigate us?*
Naturally, this policy only applied to business-to-business products. Consumer-facing goods still had to be sold locally—after all, no average buyer would fly to China just to purchase a gadget.
But back to the main point. With Jiangnan Group monopolizing the global market, its sudden announcement to cut off Samsung’s supply of cutting-edge memory chips left the Korean giant with no viable alternatives.
Panicked, every Samsung division reliant on these chips bombarded Director Kwon with urgent complaints, demanding solutions.
Director Kwon was equally frustrated. While he didn’t want to alienate his colleagues, backing down now would mean a humiliating defeat.
More importantly, his backers wouldn’t allow it. So he dug in his heels—until the other departments escalated the issue to Samsung’s top leadership.
Given the impact on nearly all of Samsung Electronics’ operations, headquarters took the matter seriously. The vice chairman personally convened a meeting, summoning Director Kwon and all affected department heads.
It was predictable: once assembled, they’d gang up on Kwon.
But he remained unfazed. His patron was none other than the vice chairman presiding over the meeting—the second son of Samsung’s chairman and a legitimate heir to the conglomerate.
While the eldest son was the undisputed successor (barring unforeseen tragedy), the second son had been groomed as a backup, wielding considerable influence within Samsung.
With such backing, Director Kwon had nothing to fear.
**"Can’t we resolve this memory chip issue internally?"** True to form, the vice chairman took Kwon’s side, addressing the room.
The department heads hesitated, sensing the vice chairman’s bias. Seizing their silence, he continued, **"Jiangnan Group is only threatening to withhold their *best* chips. Fine—let’s use the second-tier ones instead. They have the same capacity and are even slightly cheaper. Why not switch to those?"**
**"Vice Chairman Lee!"** The head of the mobile division spoke up reluctantly. **"It’s not that we *can’t* use lower-tier chips. But their read-write speeds are half as fast. That would degrade our devices’ performance by 30%."**
**"The entire Galaxy S2 is designed around top-tier memory. Switching chips wouldn’t just hurt user experience—it’d force a last-minute redesign. We’d miss our launch window and lose market share!"**
**"So we’re delayed. Yes, we’ll lose some ground."** The vice chairman’s tone turned grave. **"But think bigger. If we cave to Jiangnan Group’s blackmail today, they’ll keep extorting us tomorrow."**
**"First, they demand our best displays. Next, they’ll want the entire production line! Is that what you all want?"**
His rhetoric left the room in uneasy silence. Director Kwon smirked—until a sharp *slap* echoed through the conference room.
Everyone froze. The assailant? Samsung’s chairman himself.
**"Out. All of you."** His voice was icy. The executives scrambled to leave, not wanting to witness a father-son brawl.
**"Why did you hit me? What did I do wrong?"** The vice chairman clutched his cheek, indignant.
**"Did I ever authorize selling second-rate screens to Jiangnan Group?"** the chairman demanded.
His son fell silent.
**"Enough games. Tell me everything. Don’t think I’m unaware of your dealings with the Americans."**
Under pressure, the vice chairman confessed: U.S. interests had pressured him to divert premium supplies away from Jiangnan Group.
**"Did they also promise to make you chairman if you obeyed?"** The chairman saw through the ploy.
**"No, Father! I just thought—our foundation is in America. Defying them would be suicide!"**
**"Fool!"** Another slap landed. **"Yes, Samsung’s roots are in America—but also in *our* hands!"**
**"The future belongs to consumer electronics. Dominating that market could spawn multiple Samsungs. Yet you crippled our flagship’s performance by 30% for petty gains!"**
**"The Americans want their own brands to thrive. You’re handing them the market on a silver platter!"**
**"I didn’t know the chips were this critical!"**
**"You know *nothing*!"** The chairman stormed out.
By that evening, the vice chairman was reassigned—as head of Samsung’s Southeast Asia operations, a demotion effectively ending his succession hopes.
As for Director Kwon? He wasn’t even exiled—just arrested after an internal audit exposed corruption.
The episode baffled Samsung’s leadership. Yes, the vice chairman had acted unilaterally, sacrificing company interests to please the U.S.
But wasn’t pleasing America Samsung’s *default* policy? South Korea itself was a U.S. client state. Why had the chairman drawn such a hard line for Jiangnan Group?
Was it *just* about the memory chips?
As the ousted vice chairman had argued, even without top-tier chips, second-best options remained. Jiangnan Group hadn’t cut off supply entirely. Why sacrifice an heir over this?
The puzzle lingered—until March 2010, when the answer arrived.
By then, all of Europe knew the EU was preparing an antitrust probe into Jiangnan Group. The world waited gleefully for the hammer to fall.
At the press conference, regulators announced a full investigation into Tianzhou Electronics, citing "market threats."
00 Networks’ stock plummeted. Critics rejoiced. Pundits speculated on fines—**"At least €5 billion,"** declared one outlet.
Then came Jiangnan Group’s stunning response:
**"We’re pulling Tianzhou terminals from the market."**