My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 392

“So, to put it simply, the ambassador from a poor country was humiliated in the U.S., and then a large-scale nickel mine was discovered in that country?”

“Humiliated? Must you speak so crudely?”

“This is why the unrefined are like this…”

Park Do-joon smiled at their disapproving remarks.

“I tend to tailor my language to my audience.”

“And?”

“And in this situation, it’s fair to say they were humiliated, wouldn’t you agree?”

“……”

It was, in fact, a simple beginning. A banquet in the United States. The representative from Madagascar was making the rounds, trying to network.

At the time, the ambassador of Madagascar was newly appointed and trying to establish good relations with other countries. And when he approached the Korean ambassador, that *then*-Korean ambassador, drunk as he was, called him a ‘nigger.’

To be exact, he drunkenly called him ‘Negro,’ which is a very offensive term to Black people. Moreover, the main ethnic group in Madagascar isn’t even of African descent.

Madagascar’s population is closer to Southeast Asian ethnic groups. Of course, over time, there has been a lot of intermingling, and due to geographical factors, their skin has become darker than Southeast Asians, but regardless, their facial structure and genes are completely different from those of other African countries.

Yet, simply because it’s an African country, he was called a Negro. It just shows that he didn’t even consider basic information or etiquette and was only thinking about getting drunk.

“At that time, our ambassador was also new… it was a mistake.”

“A mistake… Haa~!”

Of course, if the Korean ambassador had been competent, or at least had some basic knowledge, he wouldn’t have made such a mistake.

But he was arrogant because he was on the so-called ‘golden track’ in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for being good at studying. He didn’t even consider that it was a diplomatic event, even though it was hosted in the U.S., and just eagerly drank the expensive alcohol, which was a mistake.

‘Well, this is the country where someone tried to commit sexual assault while accompanying the president.’

Even if he couldn’t remember the word because he was drunk, ‘Negro?’

No, even bringing up skin color at a diplomatic event was idiotic.

“So, he apologized…”

“Yes, his aide did.”

The aide, pale-faced, apologized urgently, but the other party couldn’t have felt good, so their meeting fell apart.

In fact, this could have been a genuine mistake, and if the Korean ambassador had formally apologized for his drunken blunder, it wouldn’t have become such a big deal.

The problem was that the Korean ambassador to the U.S. was too proud and completely ignored the suggestion from below that he should apologize.

Moreover, Madagascar was such a poor country that there was no perceived need for Korea to provide assistance or conduct related business. Even when there were opportunities to meet at banquets, he avoided them because his pride wouldn’t allow him to apologize.

And the representative of Madagascar was well aware of this and had been taking note.

“Ahem, who knew things would turn out this way.”

The problem exploded recently when China used nickel imports to Korea as an excuse to drastically reduce them. Korea’s battery industry is one of its key industries, and China wanted to dominate it.

In fact, China’s battery industry was growing rapidly and had virtually overtaken Korea.

However, there were quality issues, but if it improved a little more, it could sufficiently destroy Korea’s battery industry.

The problem was that the Chinese government wanted the result to happen faster, and the method they chose was to make excuses and block nickel exports.

Korean conglomerates and battery companies screamed and desperately scrambled to find nickel.

But in modern civilization, batteries have long become a necessity, and nickel is essential for making those batteries.

The fact that they couldn’t secure a supply for at least six months was revealed. The problem is that Korea only had enough nickel for three months at most.

In other words, not being able to do business for three months was a critical problem in modern industry.

In that situation, a new, ultra-large nickel mine started operating in Madagascar. That meant they could receive nickel immediately.

“So, when I went there, the person in charge of mineral exports and imports was that diplomat.”

In Korean terms, he had become the Vice Minister of Economy and Finance. Moreover, the current Prime Minister of Madagascar was even from the same family.

The Korean embassy went to negotiate, but of course, he was returning the favor in kind. Even if they asked to meet just once, he wouldn’t meet them, using the excuse that he was busy.

Since he was also a diplomat, he would naturally know what situation Korea was in and what they would say if they met.

“At this rate, the Korean battery industry will collapse.”

Yoon Tae-min said with a bitter smile. It wasn’t a joke; it would really happen. Because other countries would definitely buy nickel.

All the supply for six months had been sold, and would other places not be interested in a newly operating mine? Moreover, it was an opportunity to cripple Korea’s battery industry, so would China just stand by and watch?

If they missed this opportunity, it wouldn’t just be six months; it would be impossible to secure enough nickel in the future.

The problem is that nickel isn’t only used in batteries.

In other words, the Korean economy was about to falter, and to solve this problem, they had to secure this mine. Only then could they breathe, and only then could they import nickel from other places.

“This is driving me crazy.”

The relationship had soured due to a very serious diplomatic discourtesy. And they were telling him to fix it.

“No, then they should send the person who made the mistake.”

“We sent him to apologize, but he refused to meet.”

“Apologies must be attempted dozens, hundreds of times.”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

Park Do-joon frowned, sensing something was off.

“If you’re hiding something, tell me.”

“……”

“Otherwise, I won’t do this. Solve it yourself. Or call another profiler.”

“Since that person couldn’t meet the person in charge, he tried to meet the Prime Minister to resolve it.”

He thought he would ask for a favor since he was a much higher-ranking official and an elder in the same family.

“And?”

“So, he went with a small gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, a gift.”

“Crazy.”

Park Do-joon cursed involuntarily. Because no matter how clueless he was, this was crossing the line.

“It’s not a gift, it’s a bribe, and you thought you could bribe and persuade him because Africa is a poor place? Seriously?”

“……”

“Did you even know that the current Prime Minister of Madagascar was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize when you went?”

“……”

“I’m going crazy, really.”

So, they thought the current Prime Minister of Madagascar was like the prime ministers of other corrupt countries and tried to smooth things over with a bribe.

But logically, would the Nobel Committee nominate a politician who accepts bribes and covers up incidents for the Nobel Peace Prize?

Of course, the current Prime Minister was furious and made a huge fuss.

‘Wonderful. Really wonderful.’

And they didn’t even tell Park Do-joon about it and told him to solve it.

‘Crazy! Ugh.’

Park Do-joon’s head started to ache for real.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. Mr. Yoon Tae-min also looks like he has a headache.”

“Well, not that much.”

“I don’t think so. Isn’t it Mr. Yoon Tae-min who got hit directly by someone else’s mess, not me?”

Park Do-joon looked at him with pity. In fact, even if Park Do-joon failed here, he was still a police officer, so he could just go back, but Yoon Tae-min was affiliated here. Moreover, he was very likely the person in charge of this matter.

“Judging by the situation, it seems like they gave the job to Mr. Yoon Tae-min, thinking it was nothing, and then things went wrong, am I right?”

“How did you know?”

“I can tell roughly.”

Perhaps the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thought it wouldn’t be a difficult task. Madagascar is a poor, underdeveloped country in Africa. They must have been confident that they would come and grovel when they arrived. On the other hand, it was a fairly large case, so they gave the job to Yoon Tae-min, whom they wanted to promote within their faction.

“But Mr. Yoon Tae-min was probably completely unaware of the situation.”

The guy who made a mess in the U.S. was probably from the same faction as Yoon Tae-min, and from his perspective, there was no reason to report his screw-up when he returned to Korea. His future would be ruined.

So, he just passed it on without reporting it, and Yoon Tae-min went to Madagascar to solve the problem, and things turned out this way.

“That guy said he didn’t know at all and protested how he could have known.”

“It’s a mess, a complete mess.”

In Korea, each civil service exam is separate, and especially the foreign service exam is one of the top three, so others can’t easily become diplomats.

“But other countries don’t have such systems. Even Korea can send diplomats in unconventional ways, so how about other countries?”

Instead of selecting qualified personnel from designated departments, most politicians choose to select qualified personnel from their own factions.

“And in the first place, the fact that he was dispatched to the United States means that he is a key talent or a key figure within the faction in that country.”

The United States is the strongest country in the world and also the most politically influential country. Just knowing a former minister of that country greatly increases your global power in the political world.

In other words, being sent to the United States for diplomatic work means that he is someone with a promising future in that country. Yet, he called such a person a ‘nigger.’

“He is reflecting on his actions.”

Park Do-joon shook his head at that.

“Reflection or whatever, that guy shouldn’t be used.”

“Yes? But everyone makes mistakes once in a while…”

“No, mistakes can happen. But the way he handled it was wrong.”

If he had offended the other party by calling him a ‘nigger,’ he should have gone to apologize the very next day, and this wouldn’t have happened. But he chose to conceal, hide, and ignore it.

“Behavior patterns reveal a lot. When he says he’s reflecting this time, how do you think he’ll handle it if a similar problem arises later?”

“Hmm…”

Yoon Tae-min couldn’t say anything to that. Even he didn’t think he would actively step up to fix it.

“What kind of excuses will he make next time? He probably judged that his faction has enough power to cover it up.”

But due to his actions, his faction is now on the verge of destruction. If the rumor spreads that the reason they couldn’t get nickel was due to that diplomat’s mistake, it’s obvious that other factions will tear them apart like crazy.