My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 393

“Then what should we do?”

“We need to go to Madagascar first.”

“Pardon?”

“Are you suggesting we just send an official letter and hope they cool down? No, we can’t even send it as an official letter in the first place, can we?”

In this situation, even sending an unofficial letter, let alone an official one, won’t resolve the anger.

“Diplomacy is war. Even on equal footing, we start at a disadvantage compared to China or other countries, and we’re already lagging behind. Are we just going to sit here and have meetings?”

“Well…”

“Let’s go to Madagascar.”

Park Do-joon scratched his head and said,

“I never thought I’d be visiting Africa like this, seriously.”

Madagascar is an island nation located in Africa. Like many African countries, they are fighting against poverty, civil war, and corruption. However, they have succeeded in maintaining a relatively stable social network compared to other places, and recently, the current Prime Minister was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to harmonize the various tribes, significantly reducing social conflicts.

We can’t ignore that it is an island nation, Madagascar is a country six times the size of South Korea. Moreover, due to its structural characteristics as an island, it is not easily attacked by external forces, giving it the advantage of rapid growth once internal stability is achieved.

As society stabilized, they gradually began to focus on the economy, and the nickel mine was developed as an attempt at such economic growth.

“Welcome.”

“Yes.”

A man approached awkwardly after we got off the plane.

“I’m Joo Yong-ho. Shall we go to the embassy first?”

“Let’s do that.”

Park Do-joon felt a headache coming on as he looked at the smiling Joo Yong-ho.

“Now even the embassy…”

“Pardon?”

“It seems this embassy isn’t part of Yoon Tae-min’s faction.”

Yoon Tae-min’s eyes began to waver at those words.

“How did you know…?”

“I can tell at a glance.”

Even if Madagascar is stable, it is still a dangerous country. The entire region is designated as a travel-restricted area.

Yet, only one person came to greet us. And it’s not an embassy vehicle but a personal car.

“And considering the characteristics of the South Korean civil service world, the answer is obvious.”

In fact, South Korea prioritizes Western countries like the United States and Europe. Africa and the Middle East are often treated poorly.

“Usually, those key countries are swept up by the lines [factions] holding power. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s…”

“Let’s talk on the way.”

Park Do-joon got into the car, and Joo Yong-ho took them straight to the embassy.

“And it seems impossible to get help from the embassy.”

“But the country’s affairs are at stake.”

Park Do-joon scoffed at Yoon Tae-min’s words. Of course, it would be great if that were the case. But unfortunately, groups, especially political power groups, are not so easily dealt with.

“Their faction won’t help. Because if this problem is solved, their faction won’t have a chance to rise.”

If the South Korean economy collapses because of this, they will start investigating the cause, and naturally, the screw-up committed by Yoon Tae-min’s faction will be revealed.

“The fate of the country is at stake!”

“Among the high-ranking politicians, unfortunately, there are many who are not interested in the fate of the country.”

In the past, a politician openly said on television, ‘We must ruin the economy to seize power.’ To those in power, the survival of the people is not a particularly important issue.

‘Being in different factions doesn’t mean one side is good.’

It’s just a difference between those who hold the vested interests and those who want to take them away; it’s rare for one side to be good.

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Joo Yong-ho?”

Joo Yong-ho flinched as Park Do-joon’s question suddenly turned to him.

“Why are you asking me… hahaha.”

“I have to ask, you’re the person involved.”

“Pardon?”

“If this fails, where do you think the responsibility will go?”

“……?”

“The Korean Embassy in Madagascar wasn’t created for sightseeing.”

Primarily, the Korean Embassy in Madagascar has the greatest responsibility for resolving this issue.

Of course, they cannot be free from that responsibility.

“Of course, the current ambassador will probably be patted on the back by his faction for seizing an opportunity. So he’ll be transferred to a good position. But what about you?”

“That’s…”

“You’re just a civil servant, and a detached one at that.”

“……”

“Madagascar is not a preferred workplace for diplomatic civil servants.”

In other words, the civil servants who come here are essentially outcasts among civil servants. In fact, life in Madagascar is inconvenient, dangerous, and the environment is unstable.

Employees dispatched to the United States or Europe take their families with them under the guise of work, but those who come here do not.

It’s dangerous, but the environment is much better in South Korea.

“And most civil service organizations are skilled at cutting off the tail [scapegoating].”

That means this situation is extremely dangerous for Joo Yong-ho here. Joo Yong-ho couldn’t say anything to that.

“It was strange, though.”

“What do you mean?”

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

“I heard that the guy who caused the accident tried to bribe the Prime Minister.”

“That’s right.”

“But either way, that person is also a diplomat. Of course, he might not know if it’s a poor country’s political situation and they don’t care about the Nobel Peace Prize. But the Korean Embassy in Madagascar can’t not know that.”

And no matter how much you try to approach the Prime Minister to bribe him, you can’t just call and say, ‘Oh, I’m so-and-so from Korea, let’s meet.’

That’s beyond diplomatic discourtesy; who would meet someone who calls like that?

Naturally, such an appointment would have been scheduled under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specifically the local Korean Embassy. But they didn’t know that the current Prime Minister of Madagascar was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee?

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be incompetent, but there’s still a minimum standard. Moreover, even if you give a bribe, there’s the issue of the money.”

Account transfer? That’s impossible. Transferring to a personal account is like openly advertising that you gave a bribe. It’s also impossible to bring cash by plane. There’s no way the airport wouldn’t know.

The only way to bring it is through diplomatic pouches.

“In fact, some corrupt diplomats in some corrupt countries use diplomatic pouches to smuggle things.”

Because diplomatic pouches are fundamentally untouchable by any country, as they may contain any secrets. They may contain personal items of diplomats or necessary supplies, but they may also contain critical and threatening international information.

So diplomatic pouches are sealed multiple times, and no country opens diplomatic pouches coming from another country.

Unilaterally opening it is such a serious act that it would be justifiable to sever diplomatic relations.

“Oh.”

Yoon Tae-min realized at those words. He had heard that he was humiliated while trying to give money, but he hadn’t thought about how that money got to Madagascar.

“I don’t know much about diplomatic affairs. But as far as I know, the embassy is responsible for local information, right?”

In fact, that’s true. To that end, South Korea also sends National Intelligence Service [NIS] agents disguised as diplomats. They are so-called white agents.

And almost 100% of the Korean Embassy in Madagascar would have such NIS agents. But even that basic information wasn’t provided?

“Bribery is a crime that is greatly influenced by an individual’s disposition.”

So judging whether this person will accept it or not is one of the most important processes. But going there with money without such judgment or information?

“It’s more accurate to say that information was blocked. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

Joo Yong-ho couldn’t say anything to that and just kept driving while looking ahead. And Yoon Tae-min had a confused expression. In fact, he had just passed the Foreign Service Exam and hadn’t been a Level 5 official for long, so he had never experienced such group conflicts and was very unfamiliar with them.

To think that they would ruin the country’s economy for the benefit of their group. It was something he could never have imagined.

“There’s some misunderstanding…”

Still, he thought it couldn’t be that bad. So, as Yoon Tae-min was about to tell him not to wear colored glasses [be biased], Park Do-joon raised his finger to stop him. Instead, he said to Joo Yong-ho, who was driving.

“Silence is sometimes a great means of evasion. But it’s not always the right means of evasion.”

“……”

“We’re going to talk about your betrayal when we return to South Korea, whether we succeed or fail. Which do you think will be faster, your current faction collapsing, or them blowing you away [getting rid of you] right before they collapse?”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“It’s simple. You switch lines [factions].”

“What?”

“Do you think the current ambassador of Madagascar’s line will lead you if they win this war? I don’t think so. You’ll still be stuck here. But he’ll be transferred to a good place along the winning line. Even if you don’t quit here and hold on, the next ambassador will be Yoon Tae-min’s line, who lost power because of you, right? Can you hold on?”

At those words, Joo Yong-ho suddenly stopped the car on the side of the road. It was quite a dangerous act in Madagascar, where security is precarious, but his hands and feet were trembling so much that he couldn’t drive.

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“It’ll be different if you switch lines. The line that wins thanks to you will help you. And Yoon Tae-min here won’t leave you stuck here.”

Park Do-joon said as if driving a wedge into Joo Yong-ho, who was becoming increasingly perplexed.

“Your children need to study in a good place, too.”

At those words, Joo Yong-ho lowered his head. After a long time, he raised his head, started the car again, and said as he drove.

“That’s right. They are controlling information.”

Yoon Tae-min’s face began to distort terribly at those words. He never thought it would really be like that.

“It’s not just a matter of controlling information; they’re using all sorts of tricks to prevent us from meeting at all this time.”

“Prevent us from meeting?”

“Yes, for example, it’s known that the person in charge is deliberately avoiding us, but they’re playing some tricks on this side.”