My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 577

According to records, the Daehan Glory Faction was initially a violent organization involved in construction. However, Ji Jin-tae seemed completely unaware of any construction business. The Daehan Glory Faction he knew was a violent group in Incheon profiting from smuggling and illegal immigration.

Ji Jin-tae and his gang joined them, eventually earning recognition and being put to work in illegal immigration.

That wasn’t so bad in itself. The real problem was that this Daehan Glory Faction was unbelievably ignorant.

Instead of smuggling one or two people at a time, they were bringing in dozens, using the method of filling up the fish hold [the storage compartment on a fishing boat for keeping the catch cold].

The problem this time was that they brought in far more people than the hold could handle.

“Locking them up without ventilation, those crazy bastards.”

The fish hold isn’t meant for people. It’s a space for storing fish, so naturally, it lacks any ventilation.

The critical issue was that they crammed over twenty people into that confined space.

Inevitably, problems arose. Some of them suffocated during the journey. Packed tightly into the fish hold under the scorching summer sun, without any heating or cooling, people died from carbon dioxide poisoning.

“At first, it was an accident, huh…….”

Initially, it was chalked up to an accident. They took more people than usual and hadn’t considered the consequences. If they’d even bothered to provide an oxygen tank, it wouldn’t have been an issue.

“But the real trouble started when a family member died.”

“Yeah.”

The tragedy was that half of one family perished. A mother, father, and their two sons had all boarded the ship together, but when the parents died from lack of oxygen, the two sons went berserk and threatened to report them to the police.

“That’s where the problem truly began.”

Accidents happen. But the issue was how they reacted afterward. When the two sons threatened to report them, the Daehan Glory Faction murdered them. They threw the bodies of the parents and the two sons into the open sea.

Witnessing this sparked a riot among the others. Some were already dead, others were in comas, and they callously threw them all overboard.

The conflict escalated, and the Daehan Glory Faction, fearing future repercussions, decided to eliminate everyone.

“How could they even think of this?”

“We already got the money anyway.”

Having already received payment and with no intention of seeing them again, they decided to kill them all to ensure complete silence.

That was the gangsters’ cold-blooded decision.

“So, they killed the remaining twenty people and threw them into the sea.”

The gangsters were armed, and the people, trapped for dozens of hours without food or water, were in no condition to fight back. The confined space of the fish hold offered no opportunity for resistance.

The fishing boat had long poles, which the Daehan Glory Faction used to attach knives, creating makeshift spears. They began mercilessly stabbing the people trapped below.

Without a ladder, the people couldn’t climb out and were brutally murdered without any means of defense.

“Those cruel bastards.”

After killing thirty people, the Daehan Glory Faction threw the bodies into the sea and ordered Ji Jin-tae and his gang to clean up the mess.

“At this point, even a criminal would go crazy.”

Most people would be horrified to realize they were involved with an organization that could kill so casually.

Not all criminals are psychopaths. For three petty thugs, the shock would have been immense.

“The problem is that there’s no evidence or testimony.”

Ji Jin-tae and his gang fled as soon as they understood the nature of the organization they had joined. But from the criminals’ perspective, allowing witnesses to a mass murder to escape was a risk they couldn’t afford.

“So, the Daehan Glory Faction is hunting them down to kill them.”

“I understand.”

Lee Ji-soo’s face hardened as she spoke.

“You’re worried about something too, right?”

“Yes, this probably isn’t the first time.”

Ji Jin-tae and his gang were shocked by the massacre of illegal immigrants and chose to run. If this was the first instance, others would have reacted similarly.

But the others acted as if it was business as usual.

“That means they’ve done this more than once or twice.”

Park Do-joon nodded in understanding.

“In reality, murder and rape occur during the illegal immigration process; it’s not exactly a secret.”

The extent of human trafficking during the defection process, even from North Korea, is unknown. They’re called defection brokers, but how many of them kidnap and sell the defectors?

According to unofficial estimates, several times more people are sold into China than successfully defect to South Korea.

“And if the testimony is true, there’s a high possibility that human trafficking is also taking place here.”

According to Ji Jin-tae’s gang, illegal immigration is profitable. But their testimony hinted at something more sinister.

The reason they used the uncertain phrase ‘seems like’ was because they had never been directly involved in that aspect of the operation.

“Human trafficking…… Is human trafficking a significant problem in Korea?”

“It’s quite prevalent. Oh, don’t you know?”

“Yes? Oh, yes, well…….”

“Korea is ranked as a Tier 2 country in human trafficking management. That’s lower than the Philippines.”

“Yes?”

Lee Ji-soo’s eyes widened in surprise. She was unaware of this. Seeing her reaction, Jo Sang-gyu clicked his tongue.

“You didn’t know? Well, the government doesn’t publicize it.”

“It’s that bad?”

“To be exact, it’s not that it’s so widespread, but that it’s poorly managed.”

The punishment for human trafficking is lenient in Korea. Even in the past, in the salt farm slave case, most perpetrators avoided jail time, receiving only small fines and often not even paying back wages.

Didn’t Park Do-joon cause an uproar when the police in Shinan [a county in South Korea known for its islands] and other areas were caught returning escaped salt farm slaves?

“It’s not widely known, but human trafficking is a profitable business in Korea.”

“But it’s not something I see around me…….”

“The victims are mostly foreigners rather than Koreans.”

Koreans’ identities are closely tracked. However, illegal immigrants are not properly documented, and they are often afraid to report crimes for fear of deportation.

“So, naturally, criminals target illegal immigrants.”

It’s common to sell illegal immigrants into forced labor or sex slavery.

“That’s why the United States has placed Korea on Tier 2 in human trafficking management.”

Human trafficking of Koreans is relatively rare. But human trafficking of overseas illegal immigrants or undocumented workers is largely ignored. Even when human traffickers are caught, the punishment for exploiting someone as a slave for 30 years is often just a fine of around 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD].

The punishment is less severe than for assault, so human trafficking persists.

“And according to the testimony, they sold quite a few women too.”

It’s obvious where they sold young women. Park Do-joon cracked down on sex crimes in the islands and remote areas, so someone has to fill that void.

“But why young men…….”

“You can’t do organ trafficking in China anymore, right?”

“Huh!”

Park Do-joon also disrupted China’s organ trafficking system. Even if much of it was fabricated, it was undeniable that they were attempting to traffic organs to China.

But after two major crackdowns, they couldn’t travel abroad for organ trafficking.

“The law has changed too.”

Previously, patients could travel abroad freely, and the government didn’t intervene.

However, after the organ trafficking scandal, the government mandated that patients needing organ transplants submit medical certificates before leaving the country. That’s how serious organ trafficking had become overseas.

“If we can’t go there, are we bringing them here?”

“Yeah.”

“But there’s still something I don’t understand. Why did they kill them this time?”

“Probably because they weren’t brought in for organ trafficking or sex slavery.”

These were people genuinely seeking work in Korea, making it difficult to simply dispose of them in that manner.

“And they’ve already shown their teeth. That’s the problem.”

“Problem?”

“They’re outnumbered.”

“Ah!”

There were about twenty Chinese survivors, while the gangsters were far fewer. Moreover, the Chinese would fight desperately for their lives. Would the gangsters be willing to fight with the same intensity?

Everyone knows how tough and dangerous the Chinese can be.

“They must have been sure that they would attack them the moment there were casualties during the smuggling.”

So, they couldn’t take the risk.

“So, it’s easier to just kill them and throw them into the sea.”

They didn’t just throw them away; they tied weights to the bodies and dumped them into the sea, making it impossible to find them in that vast ocean.

Even Ji Jin-tae’s gang doesn’t know the exact location.

“That’s a huge incident.”

“Yeah.”

Illegal immigration, human trafficking, organ trafficking, and murder…… no, a massacre.

If this information leaked, the country would be in an uproar, and even a large organization wouldn’t be able to survive.

“So, they want to kill them.”

“Can’t we start an investigation based on Ji Jin-tae’s testimony alone?”

“It’s possible. The problem is that’s all we can do.”

Ji Jin-tae has a significant credibility issue as a witness.

Ji Jin-tae’s gang has a documented history of questionable character and criminal activity.

Even if such a person suddenly has a pang of conscience and claims to be telling the truth, it’s unlikely that the court would believe him.

“There are other reasons too.”

“Well, he’s telling the truth now because he’s desperate, but we don’t know if he’ll tell the truth in court.”

“Yeah.”

He clearly participated in the murders. So, even if they investigate based on his testimony and he later recants, claiming it was a lie, the police would be powerless.

Even with a confession, they can’t avoid prosecuting him for murder, making it highly likely that he’ll lie to avoid punishment later.

“And to be clear, Ji Jin-tae and his gang are criminals. Just because they were scared for a while doesn’t mean they’re going to live a good life in the future.”

Later, in court, they might claim, ‘The police beat and threatened me, so I had no choice but to commit perjury.'”

“In fact, the current situation is strange too.”