黃昌圭 移動芯片老兵的新挑戰

Hwang Chang-gyu jokes that the iPhone might not be here today had it not been for his vision for mobile chips.

黃昌圭(Hwang Chang Gyu)開玩笑說，若不是他提出移動芯片願景，可能就不會有今天的iPhone。

In 2004, when he was head of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business, Mr Hwang was invited by the late Steve Jobs to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. The Apple founder was mulling how to make the iPod slimmer and its battery last longer.

2004年，在擔任三星電子(Samsung Electronics)半導體業務負責人時，黃昌圭被已故的史蒂夫•喬布斯(Steve Jobs)請到蘋果(Apple)位於庫比蒂諾的總部。蘋果公司創始人在琢磨着如何讓iPod的機身更纖薄，電池續航能力更長。

“At that time, the iPod was quite bulky with its battery lasting only two hours. Mr Jobs wanted to make a fancier design. And he was already thinking about making the iPhone,” recalls the 62-year-old.

現年62歲的黃昌圭回憶道：“當時，iPod機身相當笨重，電池只能用兩個小時。喬布斯希望做出更漂亮的設計。他當時已在考慮生產iPhone了。”

Mr Hwang was a prominent figure in the global semiconductor industry, partly because of a theory published in 2002 — locally dubbed Hwang’s Law — that memory chip density would double each year, a more rapid evolution than that previously observed by Gordon Moore, Intel’s co-founder.

黃昌圭是全球半導體產業的一位知名人物，這在一定程度上源於2002年發表的一項理論，該理論在韓國被稱爲黃氏法則(Hwang’s Law)，即內存芯片密度將每年翻倍，這一發展速度快於當年英特爾(Intel)聯合創始人戈登•摩爾(Gordon Moore)提出的“摩爾定律”。

The South Korean showed Jobs Samsung’s newly-developed flash memory chips, which store data and whose development he had spearheaded. “He said ‘this is exactly what I wanted’.” Then Jobs laid out his vision of Apple’s future to Mr Hwang for nearly an hour, writing details on a whiteboard.

黃昌圭向喬布斯展示了三星新研發的閃存芯片，這種用來存儲數據的芯片是由他帶隊研發的。“他說‘這正是我想要的’。”接着，喬布斯用了近一個小時向黃昌圭講述了他對蘋果未來的願景，並把具體內容寫在一塊白板上。

When the iPhone was launched in 2007, Samsung ended up as its main supplier of key parts, including flash memory chips, application processors and display panels.

當蘋果於2007年推出iPhone時，三星成爲該手機關鍵零配件的主要供應商，包括閃存芯片、應用處理器和顯示屏。

The partnership has helped to cement Mr Hwang’s status as one of the rare stars among South Korean business leaders — and propel him into the CEO’s chair at KT Corp, the country’s biggest telecoms company by sales.

這種合作幫助鞏固了黃昌圭作爲韓國商界領袖中爲數不多的明星級人物的地位，並把他推上了韓國最大電信運營商（以銷售額計）韓國電信(KT Corp)首席執行官的職位。

Clad in navy suit, white shirt, blue tie and silver-rimmed glasses, he cuts a neat figure at the company’s futuristic new HQ in downtown Seoul, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano.

在首爾市中心由意大利建築師倫佐•皮亞諾(Renzo Piano)設計的未來主義風格的韓國電信新總部大樓，身穿深藍色西裝、白色襯衣，繫着藍色領帶、帶着銀邊眼鏡的黃昌圭展現出一副整潔利落的形象。

He took over at KT a year ago, after a brief stint as the country’s chief technology officer, attempting to develop new growth engines for Asia’s fourth-largest economy. In that role, Mr Hwang tried to make South Korea less of a “fast follower” and more of an innovator, complete with a more tolerant approach to risk-taking and productive failure.

他是在一年前接掌韓國電信的。之前他曾擔任韓國的首席技術官，力圖爲亞洲第四大經濟體開發新的增長引擎。在那個職位上，黃昌圭力圖讓韓國在更大程度上做一個創新者，而不再是“快速跟隨者”，包括對冒險和“有益的挫折”採取更加寬容的姿態。

The challenges of his current post have been even more pressing. He admits that he could not sleep well when he joined KT, overwhelmed by the daunting task of turning round the group.

目前職位所面臨的挑戰甚至更爲緊迫。他承認，剛加盟韓國電信時，扭轉該集團局面的艱鉅任務讓他無法安睡。

Soon after his arrival, he had to make a public apology for a personal data leak affecting KT customers, as well as a financial scam that predated him involving one of its subsidiaries. The former state-run company, which has a market capitalisation of Won8.3tn (£5.1bn), suffered a Won966bn net loss last year on sales of Won23.42tn.

在他上任後不久，他不得不爲一起影響韓國電信客戶的個人數據泄露事件以及一樁財務欺詐案（發生在他任職之前，涉及該集團一家子公司）公開致歉。去年，這家市值爲8.3萬億韓元（合51億英鎊）的前國營企業遭遇9660億韓元淨虧損，銷售額爲23.42萬億韓元。

Mr Hwang has embarked on a massive restructuring to reduce the size of KT, slashing about 8,300 jobs or a quarter of its workforce and letting go of a third of its executives. He is selling non-core assets such as the car rental and financing units to strengthen the company’s balance sheet, after it diversified in search of new growth under his predecessor, Lee Suk-chae, who has gone on trial for alleged embezzlement and breach of fiduciary duty.

黃昌圭已啓動大規模重組計劃，以縮減韓國電信的規模，裁員約8300人，佔員工總數的四分之一，還裁撤了三分之一的高管。他正出售非核心資產（例如汽車租賃和融資部門），以增強公司的資產負債表。此前在他的前任李錫採(Lee Suk-chae)領導下，韓國電信曾走上業務多元化的道路，以尋找新的增長點；李錫採因涉嫌挪用公款和違反受信責任正接受審判。

There have been early signs of recovery. KT last week posted a Won281bn net profit for the first quarter of 2015, while the number of wireless subscribers was up 6.2 per cent year-on-year to 17.5m in the same period, with average revenue per user up 4.5 per cent.

早期復甦跡象正在顯現。韓國電信最近報告，2015年第一季度實現淨利潤2810億韓元，同期無線付費用戶數量同比增加6.2%，至1750萬人，每用戶平均收入增長4.5%。

Finding new revenue streams is now the company’s biggest challenge as South Korea’s mobile market nears saturation, with fierce competition among the country’s three telecoms groups depressing their margins.

找到新的收入來源是韓國電信目前面臨的最大挑戰。隨着韓國移動市場接近飽和，該國三家電信集團之間的激烈競爭正擠壓利潤率。

Mr Hwang is pinning his hopes on futuristic services in five areas — energy, healthcare, security, transportation and next-generation media — convinced that KT can become a leader in the “internet of things”, in which ever more objects are connected electronically.

黃昌圭正寄望於在5個領域（能源、醫療、安全、交通和下一代媒體）提供面向未來的服務。他相信，韓國電信能夠成爲“物聯網”（以電子方式連接越來越多的物件）領軍企業。

South Korea is already the world’s most wired nation with the fastest internet network. KT, which is leading the country’s drive for fifth-generation, or 5G, mobile connectivity, is investing Won4.5tn during Mr Hwang’s three-year term to build superfast internet networks that will be more than 10 times faster than current ones.

韓國已是全球連接程度最高的國家，擁有速度最快的互聯網基礎設施。韓國電信正領導該國第五代移動通信(5G)技術項目。在黃昌圭的三年任期內，該公司將投資4.5萬億韓元，建設超高速互聯網基礎設施，其速度將比現有網絡快10倍以上。

“Telecoms itself could be a mature business but the industry’s paradigm will completely change when telecoms networks and platforms converge with other industries,” he says. “The industry could see explosive growth in data traffic once the 5G technology enables various connected services.”

“電信業本身可能已成熟，但是當電信網絡及平臺與其他行業融合之後，該行業的範式將發生徹底變化，”他表示。“一旦5G技術使各種互聯服務成爲可能，業界可能看到數據流量出現爆炸性增長。”

Mr Hwang was born in Busan, the country’s southernmost port city, where his youth included a stint in the high school choir. His grandfather was a famous palace painter towards the end of the Chosun dynasty.

黃昌圭出生於韓國最南部港口城市釜山，年輕時曾參加中學合唱團。他的祖父是朝鮮王朝末期的一位著名宮廷畫師。

After graduating from Seoul National University and studying for a doctorate in the US, he worked as an adviser for technology companies, including Intel. With his children growing up, he mulled a return to his homeland.

從首爾大學(Seoul National University)畢業後，他奔赴美國攻讀博士學位，之後曾擔任英特爾等科技公司的顧問。隨着子女長大，他開始考慮回國。

An ambition to overtake Japanese chipmakers — which he had viewed up close on a business trip while working as a researcher at Stanford University — led him to join Samsung in 1989.

在斯坦福大學(Stanford University)擔任研究員期間的一次出差中，他曾近距離審視日本芯片製造商。超越日本企業的雄心促使他在1989年加盟三星。

“At that time, Japanese companies were very much advanced in semiconductor technology and manufacturing, although they were a little behind Intel in terms of design capability,” recalls Mr Hwang. “The trip helped me set a goal [of beating Japan] and join Samsung.”

“當時，日本企業在半導體技術和製造方面非常先進，儘管他們在設計能力方面稍稍滯後於英特爾，”黃昌圭回憶道，“那次出差幫助我確定了加盟三星（擊敗日本的）目標。”

In fact, he faced tougher challenges after Samsung overtook Japanese rivals in the D-Ram chip business. “Once our technology surpassed that of Japanese companies, it felt daunting,” he says. “But I was convinced somehow that we were moving past the PC era into a mobile one, where demand for graphics or video clips would sharply increase. So I focused on developing flash memory chips, betting that they would spark the mobile big bang.”

實際上，在三星在動態Ram芯片業務方面超越日本競爭對手後，他面臨着更爲嚴峻的挑戰。“一旦我們的技術超過日本企業，我們感覺未來的任務十分艱鉅，”他表示，“但我在內心深處確信，我們正從個人電腦時代進入移動時代，人們對圖形或視頻短片的需求將大大增加。因此我聚焦於開發閃存芯片，相信它們將引發移動設備的大爆炸。”

His predictions turned out to be true. However, not all of KT’s unionised workers feel he has so far lived up to his fame. Some industry watchers also suggest key projects, such as the “Gigatopia” bid to make the internet 10 times faster, are against the current global IT trend focusing on mobile phones.

事實證明，他的預測是對的。不過，在加入工會的韓國電信員工中，並非所有人都認爲他迄今不負盛名。一些行業觀察人士也表示，一些關鍵項目，例如旨在讓互聯網速度提高10倍的GiGAtopia項目，與當前全球IT行業關注移動手機的趨勢不符。

Mr Hwang was paid about Won600m (£367,000) last year including bonuses, significantly less than local telecoms rivals and his predecessor at KT. He acknowledges the difficulties of running a provider of services such as KT rather than a manufacturer such as Samsung.

去年，黃昌圭共計獲得6億韓元（合36.7萬英鎊）左右的薪酬（包括獎金在內），遠遠低於本國電信業競爭對手和他在韓國電信的前任。他承認，與管理三星等製造商相比，管理韓國電信這種服務提供商存在難度。

South Korea’s service sector remains under-developed, with low productivity and little presence overseas. “In manufacturing, if you come up with a quality product, that’s it. But offering a service requires a more emotional approach, with broader perspectives and details to impress customers. ”

韓國服務業仍不發達，生產率較低，在海外幾乎沒有足跡。“在製造業，只要生產出高質量的產品就行了。但提供服務需要採取一種更感性的方法，需要更廣闊的視角，需要用細節來打動客戶。”

For KT, privatised in 2002, developing a longer-term growth strategy is further complicated by regulation and political interference. Mr Hwang stays silent about such sensitive issues, admitting they are beyond his control because KT cannot ignore its public role, but he remains optimistic about the company’s future, with a vision based on “advanced technologies and efficient management”.

對於在2002年被私有化的韓國電信，監管和政治干預加劇了擬定較長期增長戰略的複雜性。黃昌圭在這些敏感問題上保持沉默，承認這些問題不在他的控制範圍之內，因爲韓國電信無法忽視其公共角色，但他仍對公司的未來表示樂觀，他的願景基於“先進技術和高效管理”。

But Hwang Young-key, his close friend and former president of Samsung Securities, says his KT role is very different to running the semiconductor business at Samsung, where thorny issues could be handled by the group’s central functions. “At KT, he has to meet various people from government officials to labour union members and has to solve many difficult issues alone. It must be quite challenging for him.”

但他的親密朋友、三星證券(Samsung Securities)前總裁黃永基(Hwang Young-key)表示，他在韓國電信的任務與管理三星半導體業務截然不同；在三星，棘手的事務可以由集團總部的職能部門處理。“在韓國電信，他不得不與形形色色的人會面，從政府官員到工會成員，而且還不得不親自解決很多難題。對他而言，這肯定非常具有挑戰性。”