My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 325

Of course, as backers, they wouldn’t be directly ordering or informed of such actions. Their involvement is limited to providing funds.

But regardless, Shinguk Ilbo is a leading media company in South Korea. The mere fact that such a prominent media outlet is implicated in these activities is incredibly serious.

“So, you’re looking to sell this information?”

“If the price is right, yes.”

Watching the man practically crawl with a servile smile, Wang Jin-mu turned to his other subordinates.

“What do you think?”

“Well, we could offer him a substantial sum, right?”

“I suppose that’s an option.”

Wang Jin-mu nodded in agreement, and the informant’s face visibly brightened.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“No thanks needed. We comrades should help each other out.”

Wang Jin-mu gestured backward, and one of his men promptly presented a rather thick envelope. The Chinese man who received it eagerly tore it open, then looked back at Wang Jin-mu with a bewildered expression.

“You said a substantial sum…”

“Didn’t I?”

“But this is…”

“It is a substantial sum.”

“But there’s only 10 million won here…”

Hearing ‘a substantial sum,’ he naturally assumed it would be closer to 100 million won. But no matter how he looked, it appeared to be only around 10 million won [approximately $7,500 USD].

“That’s a substantial sum. In China, you can live comfortably with that much.”

At those words, the man’s face twisted in anger. He started to protest, but the next moment, two hands firmly gripped his shoulders, silencing him.

“Make any more noise, and I’ll have you find out the market value of your organs right in front of you.”

“…”

“Get lost.”

At that, the Chinese man trembled and hastily left. Once he was gone, Wang Jin-mu gathered his subordinates and began to speak.

“What do you think?”

“There’s definitely potential here. We’ve been investing heavily in expanding into Jongno [a district in Seoul].”

Indeed, the Daegumryong Clan had been making significant efforts to establish a presence in Seoul. Incheon’s Chinatown was profitable, but it paled in comparison to the potential of Seoul.

However, Seoul was already firmly controlled by entrenched forces, making it difficult to break through.

“Especially the Sinjongno Clan; they’re a real pain. They have weapons, systematically and decisively, and the local police seem to be protecting them.”

“Even if the Sinjongno Clan has a lot of members, they can’t possibly outnumber us, right?”

Wang Jin-mu’s subordinate shook his head.

“Jin-mu, you haven’t been in Korea long enough to understand. That’s why the previous boss ended up half a cripple.”

“How so?”

“That boss thought the same way you do.”

Since the Korean cops are always conveniently absent when violent gangs fight, he planned to mobilize their manpower, wipe out the Sinjongno Clan, flee to China, and then let the remaining members take over Seoul.

“So, they launched an attack, but those guys were fully prepared with bulletproof vests and helmets.”

“What? Bulletproof vests and helmets?”

“Yes.”

No matter how ruthless the Daegumryong Clan was, their weapons were limited to knives and steel pipes. Using anything more would attract the attention of not just the police, but potentially military special forces.

It’s not that they couldn’t acquire weapons. One phone call to the Triads [Chinese organized crime syndicates] in China could get them hundreds of AK-74s and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition.

However, that would mean fighting not just a rival gang, but the Korean army, so it was out of the question.

“So, our guys got thoroughly beaten instead.”

Knives were useless against bulletproof vests, and even attempts to smash heads with steel pipes were ineffective against motorcycle helmets. To inflict any real damage, they would have to swing with full force, but they weren’t given the chance. And even if they did manage to break something, it was more likely to be the helmet than the opponent’s head, resulting in their own heads getting smashed instead.

Moreover, those guys had gas pistols instead of *hoekal* [a type of Korean knife] and steel pipes, and they couldn’t resist, getting beaten up and crawling away.

In fact, dozens of people had to be sent back to China with serious injuries as a result of that conflict.

“Thinking about it, it doesn’t make sense that a mere violent gang has that kind of equipment.”

It’s not that violent gangs are unaware of bulletproof vests. Frankly, they aren’t that expensive. Cheap ones might cost around 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD], while more expensive ones could reach hundreds of thousands of won, but even the cheaper ones can easily withstand a few knife strikes.

There’s even attachable bulletproof gear for arms and legs.

But the reason violent gangs don’t typically use them isn’t because they don’t know it’s advantageous in a fight, but because if they do, the police will escalate their response from truncheons to pistols, leaving them with no choice but to shoot.

In other words, gangs know that wearing such equipment will likely result in a police pistol barrage or a SWAT team deployment, so they avoid it.

But the fact that the Sinjongno Clan had the equipment readily available for all their members and wore it as soon as the fight started indicates thorough preparation.

What’s even stranger is that despite what happened, no one from the Sinjongno Clan was arrested. In fact, the Daegumryong Clan wasn’t properly investigated either.

It was as if someone was actively covering up the incident.

“But if this information is accurate, it all makes sense.”

If the Shinguk Ilbo is backing them, then the situation is entirely different. The Sinjongno Clan would be untouchable by the South Korean police.

“Then aren’t we in trouble too?”

“No. This is a weakness. A very significant weakness. Shinguk Ilbo is established as a media company in Korea, and its influence is primarily limited to Korea.”

It has virtually no influence in other countries, especially China.

In fact, China holds a rather hostile view of Shinguk Ilbo, as the media outlet generally maintains an anti-China stance.

“So, it won’t be difficult for us to extort money from them.”

With this much evidence, they’ll have no choice but to pay up.

“Really? How much should we demand?”

“Let’s start with a modest 10 billion won [approximately $7.5 million USD].”

“10 billion won…”

“It’s worth that much.”

Wang Jin-mu nodded in agreement. The beauty of extortion is that it’s not a one-time deal. Once you extort 10 billion won this time, you gradually increase the amount to 20 billion won next time, and then 30 billion won, relentlessly squeezing them dry.

“Okay, let’s start with a modest 10 billion won for now.”

“What? 10 billion won?”

Shin Gal-dong was dumbfounded by the Sinjongno Clan boss’s words and asked again, after the boss came to see him.

“Yes, young master. The Daegumryong Clan is threatening to release the news in China if we don’t give them 10 billion won.”

“Crazy! 10 billion won isn’t pocket change!”

Of course, Shin Gal-dong could technically provide 10 billion won. But to do so, he would need his father’s approval.

And getting that approval wouldn’t be easy. 10 billion won might be insignificant to some *chaebols* [large family-owned conglomerates], but it’s definitely a substantial amount for Shinguk Ilbo.

Shinguk Ilbo is a media company, which limits its ability to raise large sums of money quickly.

They were used to extorting money, not being extorted.

“But the information they have is more extensive than we initially thought.”

“What level are we talking about?”

“They even know the names of the bars we operate.”

“Is that… a problem?”

A backer is someone who provides financial support. In return, they receive significant benefits. Naturally, they remain uninformed about the various crimes committed beneath them, and the criminals avoid discussing such matters with them.

In fact, even if an investigation targets the backer, they simply claim, ‘We just made an investment. We have no knowledge of anything else.’

That’s how it’s always been. In the used car scam, the backer merely provides the necessary funds, and the same applies to drug operations. That’s why Shin Gal-dong was only now hearing the full details of the situation for the first time.

“There are quite a few girls who couldn’t pay off their debts working there…”

“Isn’t that their own fault?”

Shin Gal-dong believed that if they took out loans to buy luxury goods, they should be willing to sell their bodies to repay them. He showed no consideration for those who had no choice but to take out loans to support their families.

To him, women were simply tools to be used. Shin Gal-dong viewed female celebrities as girls who were willing to prostitute themselves for fame, and he enjoyed using them for a while.

After all, whether one person enjoys it or 100 people enjoy it, what difference does it make?

As someone once said, would a small boat rowing on the Yangtze River even leave a ripple?

“Strictly speaking, there were some illegal aspects to that…”

Forcing them to work is problematic, but the fundamental issue is that the interest rates on the loans far exceed the legal limits. The annual interest rate is a staggering 100%.

Considering that the current legal maximum interest rate is 24%, they are charging four times the legal amount.

Naturally, this will cause problems down the line.

“And…”

The boss hesitated for a moment.

“The guys aren’t making any money, so…”

“The guys aren’t making any money?”

“Well, most of the guys who borrow from us don’t have the ability to work and pay it back…”

So, repaying the money through labor is impossible. What other methods are there?

“We sold some organs…”

Shin Gal-dong froze at the mention of organ trafficking. Prostitution? That can be covered up somehow. If they insist that the women are working willingly to pay off their debts, they might be able to get away with it.

But not organ trafficking. No one willingly sells their organs.

“Don’t tell me they’re all dead?”

Did they really sell all their organs? Did they sell the entire body?

“No, no. We didn’t actually kill them.”

“That’s a relief.”

Just as he thought he could somehow bury the situation, he heard horrifying words.

“Just a few accidents…”

“Accidents?”

“…”

Since the surgeries were performed by individuals lacking the skills of professional doctors, there were a few unfortunate accidents, resulting in deaths during organ removal.

And they sold off the bodies, reasoning, ‘What else can we do with dead guys anyway?’

“You crazy bastard…”

Shin Gal-dong’s world turned gray as he realized that the money he invested as a backer was causing problems in unexpected and horrific ways.