The Ilhyeon Electronics quarterly meeting, which had run for three hours, came to a close.

All showed themselves satisfied with a set of results in which revenue had risen 18% against the previous quarter and operating profit by more than 50%.

The growth in semiconductors in particular was remarkable.

The selling price per unit still had not recovered to what it had been in the boom, but such an enormous volume had gone out that quantity overturned everything.

A price more than 20% below the competition was enough to turn buyers who had been heading for rival firms.

And the low price was not a matter of eating one's own flesh.

It had been made possible by introducing the most advanced process and bringing the production cost per unit strikingly down.

People were in the habit of thinking of semiconductors as a cutting-edge industry.

But Seong-ho Kim had changed the approach.

He had come at semiconductors as traditional manufacturing.

He put in money and manpower and raised the number of units produced.

And he released what came out onto the market on a small-margin, high-volume footing.

Seong-ho Kim had brought into the semiconductor market the method by which one competes in traditional manufacturing; it had fitted exactly, and so raised his command of that market.

"I shall look forward to the next quarter as well."

At Seong-ho Kim's words President Dae-hwang Jin bowed his head and answered.

"Several firms that have dealt for a long time with the Japanese semiconductor companies have now agreed verbally to come over to us. And we have secured trading partners in Taiwan and Germany besides, so we expect a revenue increase of more than 10% in the next quarter."

"Good. In exchange, bear one thing in mind: we must not raise prices lightly merely because demand has risen. Our competitors are still alive. Press them until the competitors are dead."

President Dae-hwang Jin looked at him with a startled face as he answered.

"Yes. Understood. We shall do so."

Seong-ho Kim called back Yong-gyun Shin, Head of the Information & Communications Sector, who had…