My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 350

“Wow, that’s messed up.”

“Well, it is what it is.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s not something we can fix.”

Park Do-joon and Lee Ji-soo did their best as police officers and caught the culprit. Unfortunately, the police can’t intervene in civil matters.

“So, what’s up? Why come all the way here? Judging by you wanting to meet quietly, is there a problem with a case?”

“Ah, there’s a case that came up, and I was hoping you could help, *sunbae* [senior/mentor].”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I’m talking to the police to request a profiler, but I’d rather have you do it, *sunbae*. You never know who they’ll send. Someone like you can request that, right?”

“That’s true.”

Team Leader Lee Chang-man was acting like he wanted to beat Park Do-joon to death, but when Hong Geun-jong started getting involved, he tucked his tail and just cautiously watched.

“Plus, recently, I have to be careful.”

“You know?”

“Of course. Who do you think is subtly snitching to those above?”

Lee Ji-yeon smiled and said,

“I’ve been spreading bait through women’s organizations, so it’ll blow up soon.”

“Huh? Are you talking about Team Leader Lee?”

“Yes, that’s right. I don’t think it makes sense for a guy like that to be in a team leader position.”

Lee Ji-soo looked touched by those words. She was already wondering how to get rid of him, and support came from an unexpected direction.

“The police are sensitive about internal whistleblowing, but what can they do about external accusations?”

“I guess that’s true too.”

Especially if reporters and women’s organizations start tearing into him, Lee Chang-man will be gone in an instant.

“So, just bear with it a little longer.”

“Thank you. I’m already so uncomfortable.”

“The next person will be a good one, hopefully.”

“But why me of all people? Wouldn’t it be better to ask Team Leader Cha? Isn’t that why you brought him in?”

In fact, former Team Leader Cha Dae-hoon was said to be a great help at Moonlight Law Firm. So, if it’s something like this, it would be right to ask Team Leader Cha Dae-hoon.

“Ah, I thought about it. But Team Leader Cha went to America.”

“America? Why all of a sudden?”

“There’s an American case among our cases, and it seems to be a bit complicated.”

“Do you have an American lawyer?”

“We don’t have an American lawyer, but you could say we have a strategic alliance.”

Jung Yi-yeon said, scraping the last of her parfait.

“Too bad. Should I have one more?”

“Don’t even think about it. You’ll gain weight.”

Seeing her flinch at those words, Park Do-joon grinned.

“How much weight have you gained recently?”

“No, I haven’t gained any.”

“You flinched, so you did. And I confirmed it recently.”

“Seriously… Isn’t it cruel to profile your girlfriend?”

“Isn’t it cruel to flaunt your relationship in front of a single person?”

Park Do-joon laughed for a moment, finding the situation funny, then asked without losing his smile.

“Well, if it’s being formally transferred through the police, I can ask them to send me. But I need to know what it is.”

“It’s a murder case.”

“A murder case?”

“Yeah, a teacher was murdered in the area.”

“But why is it coming to you guys?”

A murder case is something the police should handle, not lawyers. Lawyers have no authority other than filing complaints related to criminal cases.

“He was our client. We were working with him on a lawsuit against the school… no, the school foundation.”

“A lawsuit?”

“A wrongful dismissal suit.”

“What? Wrongful dismissal?”

“Yeah, the case is, in some ways, ordinary.”

The victim’s name was Kwon Kang-won. He was a teacher at Ogi Middle School.

“He was fired after reporting corruption in the school foundation.”

“A common occurrence.”

It’s not a joke; it really is common. School corruption? In fact, from the police’s perspective, school corruption isn’t a big deal. To be precise, the problem is that there isn’t a school without corruption.

It’s a problem that exists everywhere, and everyone turns a blind eye, so it’s as widespread as breathing in Korea. Moreover, due to the nature of Korea’s power structure, school corruption is punished so lightly that it’s not properly punished.

When school corruption is discovered, they should either revoke the school’s operating rights or conduct an audit to make sure it runs properly, but the Ministry of Education and the police, who are supposed to do that, keep entrusting the school to the foundation that committed the corruption, using the excuse of normalizing the school.

“Usually, teachers don’t report school corruption.”

“That’s right.”

Especially since it’s a private school, as the word ‘private’ suggests, and all hiring authority lies with the foundation, teachers tend to stay quiet to protect their jobs.

“But this time, the school crossed the line a bit.”

“How far did they cross it?”

“Grade manipulation.”

“Wow!”

Grade manipulation goes beyond the level of simple school corruption. Manipulating grades for someone means, conversely, creating victims for someone.

From the start, manipulating grades is to send someone to a top university, and if they go there, someone who could have gone there is excluded.

This is a matter of fairness, and even the Ministry of Education, which is permissive and turns a blind eye to schools, never easily overlooks grade manipulation issues.

It’s okay to pocket a few bucks, but if you manipulate grades, fairness disappears, and an education system without fairness collapses in an instant.

“And it’s not just one or two people. They manipulated the grades of about ten people.”

“Crazy.”

“They’re crazy. The problem is that it was exposed.”

The grade manipulation was exposed, and after a lawsuit, the grades were corrected. After that, Kwon Kang-won’s student, who received a normal grade, entered Korea University, the best university in Korea, as desired.

“But he was fired in return.”

“That’s right.”

For the school, which had its grade manipulation exposed, whether it was for bribery or power, it would have been angry and ashamed.

Moreover, they would have to manipulate grades again in the next semester depending on the situation, and it would be uncomfortable to have a teacher who would report it, so they eventually found a ridiculous excuse and wrongfully dismissed him.

“And in such cases, a lawsuit to cancel the wrongful dismissal naturally follows.”

The evidence for the accusation was clear, and the fact of the wrongful dismissal was also clear, so it was virtually impossible to lose.

“But the victim was murdered?”

“That’s right.”

Kwon Kang-won was murdered, and the police are investigating.

“The local police suspect that the Ogi School Foundation is the culprit.”

In fact, looking at the situation, they are the only suspicious party.

“And the Ogi School Foundation says it’s not them?”

“Of course, they deny it.”

Park Do-joon scratched his head at those words.

“I get the gist. But honestly, the outcome you want in this case probably won’t happen.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Park Do-joon calmly said to Jung Yi-yeon. It’s not a case assigned to him yet, but if Moonlight is asking for it, it’s natural that it will be assigned to him unless something special happens.

“You guys think the Ogi Foundation is the culprit, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But why would the foundation kill Kwon Kang-won over money?”

“We almost won the lawsuit, remember?”

“Yeah, that’s frustrating. But think about the nature of a foundation. They killed Kwon Kang-won because they lost the lawsuit. Then, they’re being investigated for murder, which is a fact.”

“Right?”

“Why would they do that? There’s no reason, is there?”

“You could say it’s revenge?”

Park Do-joon shook his head at those words. Of course, you could think that way. Maybe an individual would do that. But the target is not an individual but a group, and a school foundation that educates.

“If they kill, the police’s surveillance and investigation will only intensify. It’s a loss for the foundation. In the short term, anyway.”

“There’s no reason to take revenge?”

“This isn’t the first wrongful dismissal lawsuit for the school foundation. You know what will happen after this, right?”

“That’s true.”

They will clearly win this time, and he will be reinstated. And he will receive the wages he didn’t receive during the wrongful dismissal.

“What can the foundation do after that?”

“Um… usually, they find another excuse to fire him again.”

“And another lawsuit?”

“That’s right.”

“Yeah, it’s a process with built-in countermeasures. It’s not exactly a secret, so why commit murder?”

Their common method is to make the whistleblower tired and give up through repeated lawsuits of firing and reinstatement.

Even if he is reinstated, no one in the school will treat him like a human being or talk to him.

“Eventually, they win over time.”

“Um?”

“And that lawsuit itself is a warning.”

It’s a warning to the teachers and staff inside the school that they can ruin your life if you blow the whistle. Showing the miserable appearance of being treated after reinstatement, eventually being fired again, and collapsing while suing again.

“That itself is a great threat.”

But kill? Is there a reason to do that? Really? Of course, killing is also a great threat.

“But killing is too severe in terms of consequences.”

It’s not a violent organization but a school that teaches children. If they kill when things go wrong, who would want to work at that school? Beyond that, would parents want to send their children to a school where such things happen?

Would the police foolishly let that go?

“Despite having an efficient way to exert pressure, the impulsive act of murder doesn’t fit the nature of a school foundation, which is to run a school.”

“But that’s what the local police are saying?”

“It’s true that they are suspicious. But in the end, the other party is hiring a lawyer to respond, right? Why kill someone when they are hiring a lawyer to respond?”

“Um, I guess?”

“Yeah, you guys may suspect the school, but realistically, the school is only losing money because of this.”

Of course, if someone sues personally and gets personally involved, they might commit murder out of anger.

But a foundation is not like that. It’s just a reinstatement lawsuit that will only lose a few tens of millions of won at most.

“The organization makes decisions based on the organization’s judgment. They may have personal complaints, but they won’t think of solely taking responsibility for the individual’s responsibility according to the organization’s decision line.”

Strictly speaking, it’s not their problem but the organization’s problem. They are angry and annoyed, but the act of murder ultimately results in the responsibility falling on the individual who ordered it, not the organization.

“It’s complicated.”

“It is complicated.”

Park Do-joon frowned and said,

“Still, it’s a strange case.”

And it was also a dangerous case. If the police suspect that this is a crime by the Ogi School Foundation, it means that if they make a mistake, the police will set the answer and investigate.

“I think I need to go there.”

In the end, the fact that Park Do-joon has to do it doesn’t change.