My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 388

“Then call them.”

“But if we do, it might leak to the Chinese media…”

China already harbors strong anti-Korean sentiments. In their view, Korea should be subservient. But now that Korea is thriving, they seem to have an inferiority complex and react even more aggressively.

“What, you think it won’t reach the Chinese media if we *don’t* call them?”

“Ugh.”

Exactly. There’s no way the Chinese media would stay silent even if we didn’t contact them. In fact, considering China’s usual tactics, they’d likely try to exert even more pressure on the Korean government through the media.

“But if we call them, it won’t get out to the media.”

“Why?”

“Because a cooperative relationship will be established.”

We’re asking for help, and they’re providing it. This might appear as a sign of weakness, but it actually signifies a cooperative relationship, and establishing such a relationship usually encourages its maintenance.

“In this case, do you think the organization sending people from China to Korea is composed of Koreans?”

“Probably not, right?”

From the start, a Korean going to China to arrange illegal immigration? Even the corrupt public security officials and Chinese police would shut that down immediately.

“This kind of crime is essentially a transaction.”

A structure where they recruit in China, we receive them in Korea, and the profits are shared.

“In other words, we can request an investigation into the illegal immigration organization in China through established channels. If we’re lucky, we can even request a joint investigation.”

“So?”

“People care more about a splinter in their finger than someone else’s life-threatening illness.”

They’re more likely to be concerned about a kidnapping ring operating within their own country than a criminal organization forcibly confining and committing crimes in another country.

“Kidnapping?”

“Yes.”

“But didn’t they voluntarily enter the country illegally?”

“The illegal entry doesn’t negate the kidnapping.”

If you forcibly drag someone away against their will, that’s kidnapping. Of course, these women were trying to enter the country illegally. But from the moment they were forcibly confined against their will, it should be treated as kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

“And what will happen if we announce that in Korea?”

“Well…”

Perhaps the Chinese public will erupt in anger and demand the extermination of those responsible, and given the nature of the Chinese Communist Party, they will mobilize every resource to eliminate them. Human trafficking is one of the most severely punished crimes in China.

And of course, they’ll loudly publicize that process through the media. Would there be any room left to criticize the Korean government in that situation?

“And if that happens, they’ll be attacking the criminal group, not the Korean government.”

In other words, the pressure on the Korean government will be significantly reduced.

“Hmm. So, what happens then?”

“If they still try to involve the Korean government?”

“Then we can reframe it as illegal immigration, not kidnapping.”

If we present it as illegal immigration, externally, it appears as though these women came to sell their bodies. And if that happens, the Chinese government will be in a difficult position.

Because they become criminals either way.

“You said you want to hide your country’s shame, right? It’s no different for China.”

From China’s perspective, the image of ‘criminals kidnapping and trafficking women’ is preferable to the image of ‘Chinese women going abroad to sell their bodies.’

If it’s the former, the reputation of all Chinese people is tarnished, but if it’s the latter, it becomes a problem of individual criminals.

“Senior, what happens to those women then?”

“Realistically? There’s not much difference.”

“Nothing?”

“Either way, they’re victims.”

Of course, illegal immigration is a crime. But it’s also true that they are victims who were forcibly confined and exploited for prostitution after arriving in Korea.

“The court will never be able to impose punishment.”

This is not just a matter of their crime but also a consequence of the Korean police’s incompetence in preventing their victimization.

“They’ll probably end up being deported.”

Whether they’re rescued or apprehended, the outcome for people from China is deportation.

“But what if they don’t testify that way?”

Park Do-joon scoffed at Yoon Tae-min’s words.

“Do you think they’re crazy enough to say, ‘I illegally immigrated to Korea to engage in prostitution’?”

There are laws regarding the punishment of illegal immigration in China as well. Moreover, if they gain a reputation for that, their lives will be ruined.

Logically, the whole point of this is to quietly enter, quietly earn money, and quietly leave.

But if it becomes this big of an issue, the moment they admit they came for prostitution, their lives are over.

“Rather, they’ll claim to be kidnapping victims.”

“Ah!”

So, they’ll completely blame the criminal organization.

“Of course, even if they do, a record of illegal immigration will remain in Korea, so they won’t be able to come to Korea again.”

Even if they are officially recognized as victims and such a record isn’t created, in most cases, the experience in Korea leaves them traumatized, making them reluctant to return.

In conclusion, nothing changes from Korea’s perspective. But from China’s perspective, many things change.

“There was… such a method?”

Yoon Tae-min had a surprised look on his face. He knew that they had to cooperate with the police because of China’s strong pressure, but he never imagined they could cleverly navigate the situation like this.

“What are you going to do? Are you going to ask for help from China?”

“I’ll be back after making a quick call.”

Watching Yoon Tae-min leave, Park Do-joon smiled.

“Well, let’s see how far this goes.”

# True Purpose?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a report from Yoon Tae-min and immediately requested assistance from the Chinese Embassy. The justification was appropriate. They suggested that it would be beneficial for the Chinese Embassy to send someone to provide psychological support to the kidnapping victims. And that turned out to be a masterstroke.

“Why is the Chinese Ambassador to Korea here?”

Lee Ji-soo asked suspiciously while preparing for the raid.

“He’s here for the publicity, what else? ‘Chinese Ambassador to Korea dispatched to the scene of rescuing his citizens.’ Sounds good for the news, right?”

“Ugh, but if this turns into a complete mess, we’re screwed.”

If they make a big deal out of this rescue operation and it turns out to be a perfectly normal bar, they’ll face serious repercussions.

“I don’t think that will happen.”

But Park Do-joon didn’t think so at all.

“Why?”

“Because I’ve already confirmed it.”

“Yes? Did you go inside?”

“Of course not. I found out in a different way.”

“How?”

“Liquor consumption.”

“Liquor?”

“Yes, all bars are required to purchase liquor from legally designated distributors.”

And that’s unavoidable, no matter how illegal their activities are. Because that’s mandatory whether it’s an entertainment establishment or a regular restaurant.

The only way to avoid that is not to register at all, but then they’d face constant scrutiny and crackdowns. The city regularly conducts crackdowns to prevent unregistered businesses.

It’s impossible for a large bar in the entertainment district not to register, let alone a small rural store.

“But you know, the sales are surprisingly high.”

“And?”

“There are no people commuting to work. To be exact, only men leave work when the bar closes.”

Logically, there are no entertainment bars that operate 24 hours a day. They need to clean and people need to rest. But even when it’s time to leave work, only men come out. Given the nature of entertainment bars, the proportion of women should be overwhelmingly high.

“Then what about those women?”

“It’s simple. They’re trapped inside.”

“I’ve heard that there are bars that provide lodging and meals?”

Park Do-joon nodded. It’s true that such places exist.

“But even so, people need to go out sometimes.”

For example, female employees need to get their hair done. They can’t serve customers with unkempt hair. Even if they’re reclusive and homebody-oriented, it doesn’t make sense that they can’t go outside at all.

“But what about eating and sleeping?”

“Most of those places have secret passages.”

Park Do-joon said, pointing to the empty building in the back.

“That place is empty. Officially.”

“Officially?”

“Yeah, isn’t it strange?”

It’s a store with access to the entertainment district. Of course, it’s an old building, and it’s inconvenient to have to access it from the alley rather than the main street, but it’s not a location where business would be bad.

“It used to be a motel.”

But the motel is closed. What’s even stranger is that the motel is closed, but the electricity and water bills are quite high.

“The doors are locked, and there’s no way to enter from the outside. But the electricity and water bills keep coming. Isn’t that strange?”

“Then could it be that place?”

“That’s right.”

They probably drilled through the wall through the basement. And the two buildings are connected through that passage.

“They use that as a lodging facility for female employees? That’s too expensive.”

If they’re truly working voluntarily, there are quite a few cheap apartments on the outskirts. So, securing that motel is much more expensive than renting apartments.

“So, this is the place.”

“Is everyone ready?”

The police special forces commander approached and asked.

“Yes, we’re ready.”

“But isn’t this time a bit awkward? How about doing it tomorrow evening?”

The current time is 4:30 AM. It’s an unusual time. There will be almost no customers. The police special forces commander suggested, but Park Do-joon shook his head.

“We can’t do that because this is a rescue operation.”

“Why?”

“This is their busiest time, and it’s when all employees will be working.”

It’s the time when business is closing, so it’s time to settle the income and clean up. They wouldn’t hire employees who only clean during cleaning time, so naturally, waiters and lower-level employees will be cleaning.

“In other words, it will take time to gather them when we go in.”

And the high-ranking guys are likely holed up somewhere calculating the day’s earnings. This kind of bar is a place where a lot of cash transactions take place. Naturally, they can’t trust each other when so much cash is involved, so they have to monitor each other.

“So, even if the police come, they can’t all come out.”

Because someone has to protect the money.

“Hmm.”

“And it will be much easier to subdue them because there are no customers.”

Since there are no customers, the number of people to subdue is naturally reduced.

“Especially at this time, they will be the most tired.”

Resistance will be difficult, and decisively, most of the women will want to leave.

“They’re probably isolated at this time.”

In other words, they can’t easily take hostages.

“So, that’s why you didn’t deploy them to that building?”

“To be exact, we didn’t do a forced entry.”

The police special forces assumed they would naturally break into the suspected confinement facility. But Park Do-joon instructed them not to.