My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 188

It began with criminals, but it’s no secret that other countries are already developing countermeasures, observing the tendencies of other nations and their leaders.

“Well, you’ll understand later.”

‘If you make it that far, that is.’

Right now, they can’t even imagine using profilers to analyze their adversaries, but eventually, they will.

Back then, Park Do-joon was a key member of the team, his skills unmatched.

However, his tenure was short-lived. The other team members tried to base their judgments on political ideologies or agendas, and Park Do-joon consistently challenged their biases.

He believed that when assessing an adversary for the sake of national interest, political ideologies must be set aside. But his colleagues insisted on judging based on the preferences of specific political parties or politicians.

As Park Do-joon continued to object, the other team members eventually united to force him out.

‘And, sigh……!’

Ultimately, they misjudged the US president, and South Korea nearly suffered disastrous consequences.

“Senior, what are you thinking about so intently?”

“It’s nothing.”

Park Do-joon shook his head and gazed out the window.

“Number 1! Number 1!”

“Number 2! Number 2!”

Passionate voices echoed from a distance.

“Just bad memories.”

Faced with a situation that could lead to a grim future, Park Do-joon could only sigh.

Upon returning to the office after his fieldwork, Park Do-joon and Lee Ji-soo were assigned a new case.

“This case… won’t be easy, will it?”

“No, we don’t even know who they are yet. And it’s not just anywhere.”

“Sinan, huh…….”

Angel Island, Sinan [a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea].

It’s called Angel Island because the area is said to have 1,004 islands, but… it’s also known as Devil’s Island.

“What are the local police saying?”

“Well, it’s hard to expect much.”

“Cooperation is out of the question.”

“That’s right.”

The reason Sinan is called Devil’s Island is because the security there is notoriously poor.

South Korea is famous for its excellent security. So much so that a woman can jog alone at 3 a.m. without any problems. But in Sinan, even men are advised not to walk alone after 8 p.m. due to the high crime rate.

“Is Sinan’s security really that bad?”

“There are 1,004 islands. As you know, terrain is a very important factor in crime.”

Park Do-joon calmly explained to Lee Ji-soo, who seemed surprised. Of course, she knew it intellectually, but applying it to reality required practical experience.

“The police in Sinan can’t patrol all the islands.”

On the mainland, you can drive anywhere, but in Sinan, you have to travel by boat. Dispatching officers and conducting investigations are difficult.

Moreover, South Korea doesn’t allocate police officers based on terrain but on population, so the number of officers is woefully inadequate.

“The biggest problem is the localization of the local police.”

Ideally, police personnel should be sent there on rotation, but no one wants to go, so everyone avoids the area.

In the end, the police in that area do rotate, but it’s just a matter of lateral transfers, so localization is very severe.

“In rural areas, this localization is a serious issue, so you have to consider that when profiling. I call it the crime collusion phenomenon of localized police.”

“Ah…….”

Lee Ji-soo’s expression changed. She had learned about profiling criminals in school, but she had never heard of the crime collusion phenomenon due to the localization of local police.

“There’s nothing we can do. We can’t teach ‘Our country’s police are corrupt’ in school, can we?”

The ultimate goal of profiling departments is to get a job in the police. But you can’t openly talk about police corruption there.

“So, you have to learn from practical work.”

“That’s right. First, you go down there. It’s not like it’s the first time.”

“That’s right.”

Park Do-joon nodded.

“I’ll go down right away. You packed your travel bag, right?”

“Yes!”

Since they don’t know when and where they will be sent, the police of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit keep a simple travel bag packed. It’s not a big suitcase, but a small carry-on to prepare for the unexpected.

“Let’s go, to Sinan.”

Park Do-joon got up from his seat.

‘Come to think of it, I remember this case.’

Park Do-joon recalled as he headed to Sinan.

‘I don’t remember other cases, but I remember this one. Well, is that any surprise?’

It was a case he had worked on with Han Sung-gi. However, they couldn’t solve it back then.

‘Did it stick in my memory because I failed?’

Thinking so, Park Do-joon looked out the window. Lee Ji-soo, who was taking turns driving with Park Do-joon, asked him.

“Senior, what did you mean by what you said earlier?”

“What?”

“The team leader said it’s not the first time.”

“Ah~ that? It’s literally what it means.”

Park Do-joon shrugged.

“Every year, mysterious bodies are found there.”

“Mysterious bodies?”

“Yeah, most of them are similar to this case. No, almost exactly the same bodies with their necks cut off and their fingers and toes missing keep being found in the sea.”

Lee Ji-soo’s face paled at Park Do-joon’s words.

“What? Isn’t that a complete serial murder?”

Park Do-joon sighed deeply.

“If it were a serial murder, I would have solved it. The problem is that it’s not a serial murder.”

“What?”

“You know that the region affects the nature of the case, right?”

“You said it earlier.”

“Sinan is a prime example.”

What is Sinan most famous for? Specialties? Festivals? No. Slaves. If you say ‘Sinan Salt Farm Slaves,’ everyone knows what you’re talking about.

“Sinan’s security is low. And the localization of the police is severe. Moreover, salt farm work is extremely difficult.”

Even foreign workers refuse to do salt farm work because it’s so arduous.

“And the profit isn’t that great.”

So how do they compensate for that labor?

“So, it’s slavery?”

“Yes, they kidnap disabled people from all over the country and bring them here.”

The work on the salt farms isn’t complicated. It’s simple enough to be done even with a mild disability. However, the work is incredibly demanding.

“As a result, many of the people brought in as slaves die.”

“Could it be……?”

“Yes, that’s right. It could be.”

What do they do when they die? They can’t send them back to their families. But they can’t just bury them anywhere. If that were discovered, there would be a national uproar.

“But the sea is right there.”

If you throw them into the sea, no one can find them. And if they are found, you just have to make sure they can’t be identified.

“If you cut off their heads so they can’t recognize their faces, cut off their hands and feet so they can’t check their fingerprints or footprints, and then throw them into the sea, it’s practically impossible to investigate.”

That’s why when Park Do-joon came with Han Sung-gi before his regression, the case went unsolved.

“The police don’t know that?”

“Of course they know. The team leader said it. Don’t expect anything. The local police will not want to investigate this case. They’ll try to hide it. In that respect, this case is different from other cases.”

In other cases, the police will cooperate to search for the criminal, but this time, it’s fortunate if they don’t obstruct the investigation.

“Slave cases are the cases the police want to hide the most.”

“I didn’t know the local police were that corrupt…….”

“No, no, the police I’m talking about aren’t just the local police, but the entire police organization. Do you remember the Sinan Salt Farm Slave case from the past? The one where they were rescued after sending a letter to Seoul.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Do you know what happened to the police who investigated based on that letter?”

“Huh? I don’t know?”

“He was given a dead-end job. He was demoted.”

The team leader was demoted to a team member after investigating the case, and his career was effectively ruined.

“That’s not all.”

The court sentenced the owner of the salt farm, who had been beating, abusing, and withholding wages for decades, to probation, claiming that such salt farm slavery was customary.

And the disabled victims sued Sinan County, claiming that Sinan County failed to protect them, but Sinan County somehow won the case due to lack of evidence.

After that, Sinan County shamelessly pursued the litigation costs and actually succeeded in extracting some of them from the disabled people.

“You can think of Sinan as a small independent country where slavery is virtually recognized.”

To put it bluntly, that’s the truth. They speak Korean, but psychologically, there is no respect for or willingness to enforce existing laws.

“Is it that bad?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Then how did this case even get to us? I don’t think the local police would ask for a profiler?”

“Ah, it wasn’t the local police who requested it, but the Coast Guard.”

“The Coast Guard?”

“Yeah, the body was found in the sea.”

In that area, two to three unidentified bodies are found every year. And up to eleven bodies have been found in a single year.

To be exact, eleven bodies were found when the salt farm slave case was in full swing, and there was speculation that Sinan had orchestrated the murders, but it remained just suspicion due to lack of evidence.

“Don’t they investigate in Sinan?”

“They do. And they cover it up.”

Their investigation isn’t about saving the people. It’s about identifying the parts that could get them in trouble and hiding them.

In fact, investigations have been conducted every year since that incident, but Sinan’s official position is that there has not been a single case of suspected slave abuse.

“But the sea is the Coast Guard’s jurisdiction.”

Moreover, not all bodies are found in the sea. Some sink or are eaten by fish.

“If you consider the possibility of burying them on the many islands in Sinan, you can only imagine how many deaths there are.”

At least the salt farm area of Sinan absolutely needs slaves, and local organizations operate in a way that supports it.

“How do we solve this?”

“We have to do it carefully…….”

Park Do-joon sighed deeply.

Angel Island, Sinan.

But what Lee Ji-soo saw when she arrived there was anything but angelic.

“No, why did you come all the way here with something like that?”

“Well, a body with its head and limbs cut off has a bit of weight to it [referring to the burden of the case].”

“They’re all Chinese bastards anyway. How can we keep track of all the bodies coming from China? They’re the ones who are always fighting and killing each other.”

The police said to Park Do-joon with a troubled… no, hostile attitude.

“The DNA test isn’t finished yet.”

“It’s obvious. They’re Chinese guys. So, mind your own business.”

‘It’s always going to be like this.’

Strictly speaking, when a murder occurs, it is not the Coast Guard but the local police who investigate the case. But if you hand over the case to the police in Sinan, they will handle the case carelessly.

A Professional Profiler