My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 643

“Kang Gu-chan will do anything to save Kang Seok-doo. Literally anything.”

And that will include soliciting favors and lobbying powerful figures.

“They must find that burdensome.”

“Yes.”

Covering up a murder-terrorism incident? That wouldn’t be easy. Naturally, most people would refuse, and even if they tried to help for a price, they would cut ties as soon as Park Do-joon’s plan unfolded.

“And realistically, it will be difficult for those people to continue using the Teriam Group’s golf courses.”

Some have already refused, and they know what that guy has done. Naturally, the value of Teriam Group will plummet significantly in the process.

Whether Kang Gu-chan tries to save it or not, one thing is certain: Teriam Group will fall because of the Kang Seok-doo issue.

“If the stock price plummets…”

“Yes, it’s not just a matter of people boycotting them.”

If Hyunseong Group gives it a slight push, people will leave Teriam in droves.

“And in that case, they have to refund the membership fees. That’s a critical issue for Teriam Group.”

Not just golf courses, but luxury resorts operate in that way. Members pay a membership fee and then an annual fee separately. Some might wonder, ‘Who would pay double like that and put up with it?’ but what they want isn’t money, but connections.

For example, there’s a fitness center operated by a hotel in Seoul. The entrance fee is a whopping 80 million won [approximately $60,000 USD]. And the annual fee of 6 million won [approximately $4,500 USD] is separate. Logically, no matter how good the facilities are, it doesn’t make sense to pay an entrance fee of 80 million won and an annual fee separately, but it’s not just that the facilities are better than the neighborhood gym.

The connections you can make there. That’s what has a huge impact on their lives, so they pay that money.

“Teriam is using all of that up this time.”

“That’s right. Kang Gu-chan is a good father. He’s someone who cares about his son.”

That’s why he will try to save his son by any means possible.

“Hmm.”

Of course, it’s not that Hyunseong Group is desperate enough to swallow Teriam, or that they need to. But if the situation arises, Kang Gu-chan and his son will try to sell the company.

“If we seize the opportunity, we can swallow it up cheaply.”

“Either way, they can’t live in Korea anymore.”

Of course, they won’t be subjected to collective bullying by the entire nation, but at least they won’t be able to network with powerful figures in Korea and seek opportunities.

“And if we attach some conditions, we can get more concessions from them.”

“Conditions?”

“Yes, when acquiring the company, offer them a nominal position. A non-executive director would be fine. Then Teriam Group will probably sell the company to Hyunseong Group.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s a question of whether to convert everything into money and give up, or to leave a chance for recovery even if it means taking a slight loss.”

“Ah, I see what you mean.”

Even if they go bankrupt, they won’t be so poor that they’ll end up on the streets. But if they lose everything, they won’t have a way to rebuild their connections and recover.

“So, we’re going to provide that.”

“That’s right.”

Then, even if it means cutting the price a bit more, they will try to seize that opportunity.

“Of course, what they do after that is their own business.”

“That’s right. From our perspective, it’s good if they succeed, and it’s okay if they fail.”

“Yes.”

If they succeed, Hyunseong Group and Chairman Bae Deok-gi will be benefactors in Kang Gu-chan’s eyes. So, he will treat them with utmost respect and side with Hyunseong Group.

Hyunseong Group does have its own connections, but having two people on your side instead of one makes a big difference in policy decisions.

“Even if they fail, they won’t have any decision-making power anyway.”

“It won’t cause any problems for the company.”

Kang Seok-doo will never get out of prison until he dies.

“Not a bad strategy.”

“Of course, for that to happen, Kang Seok-doo has to go to prison.”

If he goes to prison, Kang Gu-chan will collapse and lose his management control. If he successfully protects Kang Seok-doo, Kang Gu-chan will have a responsibility to compensate those who helped him, but there will be no reason for him to step down from the management front.

“So, you want me to leak information that you have obtained decisive evidence?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, it’s not a difficult request. They have all sorts of lawyers attached to them. But will it be easy?”

Data that didn’t come out during the investigation suddenly comes out when Park Do-joon goes out and investigates? That’s unlikely.

“You’re not talking about CCTV footage, are you? The police must have already searched all that.”

They had already searched all the likely places, but nothing came out.

“Of course, I’m not going to present something like that. After all, if I present it, it won’t be credible since the police couldn’t find it.”

“Then are you going to talk about the potassium cyanide?”

“I’m not sure about that, but it probably won’t be meaningful.”

It wouldn’t be difficult to manipulate documents and smuggle them out of the lab. Submitting such documents would be meaningless.

“Then? Of course, we can secretly spread rumors, but to do that, there has to be something to back it up. Teriam will conduct its own verification before moving.”

“A syringe and rubber gloves with fingerprints on them.”

“A syringe and rubber gloves?”

“Yes. How else could they have put the potassium cyanide in the food?”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

Bae Deok-gi nodded at Park Do-joon’s words. Since they can’t tear open the package, they have to put it in through a small hole, and the most effective way is to inject it with a very small syringe.

If you position it well, you can put potassium cyanide in the snack without it being noticeable.

“That alone will be enough to trouble Kang Gu-chan. And if we add a little help, they will probably start getting cut off.”

“Do I have to help?”

“No, but you can leak the information to the snack company.”

“The snack company? Aha! I see what you mean. The snack company must be the most troubled right now.”

The fact that poison is being spread indiscriminately is a serious blow not only to snack companies but also to food companies in general. Even if it’s being spread across the board, not just by a specific company.

In such cases, people try not to avoid a specific company but to reduce purchases altogether. That way, at least the odds can be lowered.

“Of course, it will probably be forgotten over time, and sales will increase again. But if the investigation is prolonged due to the unsolved case, that period will be at least six months.”

For a company, six months is a huge blow. If a company loses 1 billion won [approximately $750,000 USD], it has to earn more than 3 billion won to make up for that 1 billion won loss, so it’s like a bolt out of the blue for them.

“Kang Gu-chan probably doesn’t think I’m going to cut off his hands and feet.”

“He must know who’s behind you, doesn’t he?”

“That’s why he doesn’t know. Apart from the fact that I know the Chairman, he won’t be able to grasp the method. Frankly speaking, if I came to you empty-handed and asked for help, would you bother fighting with Teriam while making enemies?”

“No. There’s no reason to.”

Teriam is a small company, but it’s a successful company in Korea, and it’s a much bigger deal than firing a police chief.

But if Park Do-joon comes and asks for help, there’s no way he’d just help him empty-handed.

“They won’t know that they themselves will be the bait, so they will assume that you will refuse my request.”

“I see what you mean.”

And if Bae Deok-gi refuses Park Do-joon’s request, there’s nothing Park Do-joon can do.

“So, externally, you must keep the meeting with me a secret.”

“Instead, leak the information to the snack company?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

Chairman Bae Deok-gi chuckled without realizing it. He doesn’t know much about psychological warfare. In fact, when running a company, what you see is numbers, not psychology. But Park Do-joon looks at and judges human psychology instead of numbers.

That was amazing and so much fun from Bae Deok-gi’s perspective.

“At that rate, it might be possible to earn the acquisition cost of Teriam Group through stocks.”

“Yes, you can short-sell Teriam Group’s stock. When this situation is resolved, the stock prices of snack companies will rise all at once.”

In fact, the stock prices of snack companies had fallen considerably due to this incident. Even if the government is on the side of the companies, they can’t hide the fact that terrorism has occurred and allow additional damage to occur, so they announced that they should not pick up the fallen snacks, as Park Do-joon said.

Of course, due to the nature of the crime, the damage will be reduced or eliminated if you don’t pick up the fallen snacks, but that’s not how the public feels.

There’s no law that says someone won’t pick up the fallen snacks and sell them.

Naturally, sales are decreasing.

“I’ll do as you wish. This time, it looks like we can make some money too.”

“Thank you.”

Park Do-joon greeted him and left the chairman’s office. Then he leisurely drove his car to the cafe where Jeong I-yeon was waiting.

“Hi, oppa [an affectionate term for older brother used by a female].”

“You’re late.”

“It’s okay. You met with the Chairman, so it can’t be helped. But you said you had something to say?”

“They’re going to put someone on me.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. But to trap those guys, there are a few things we need to prepare.”

“Aha! You can’t prepare that, oppa.”

“That’s right.”

Since they’re constantly watching Park Do-joon, he obviously can’t do anything.

“I’ll have to do it.”

“I think you’ll have to. Won’t it be difficult?”

“No. Not at all. That’s not difficult.”

“We might end up making enemies with Teriam later.”

“It’s over with them anyway. You should have seen how much they harassed my dad.”

“Harassed?”

“Telling him to give up their case and take charge of their case.”

“What’s their case? My father doesn’t usually take on general cases, does he?”

There’s no reason to take on general cases. The retainer fee is much higher than other people’s, and he’s a socially influential person. There’s no reason to waste the company’s power by entrusting him with general cases.

But if Teriam is telling him to give up, it means that it’s a manageable case that they can cover.

“I guess it’s a case he took on personally.”

“You’re so amazing, oppa. You figured it out right away without me saying a word?”

The fact that he’s taking on a case that doesn’t involve money means that he’s taking it on because he has some acquaintance with the person involved in the case. Regardless of money.

“You’ve done that before. The military case.”

“Ah, that’s right. Well, my dad isn’t in a position to take on cases while being mindful of money anymore, and these connections will eventually disappear if you keep using them.”

“That’s right.”

Give and take is a strict rule that is followed even between acquaintances. No, there are parts that are followed even more thoroughly because they are acquaintances.

Because if someone tries to use their acquaintance as bait and use them for free, they will cut ties.

That’s why the lawyers in charge of the case don’t readily use their political power when taking on a case. Because they have to repay that much, or it’s an act of diminishing the favor they gave to the other person.

So, even famous lawyers usually limit the moment they use their political power to the extreme.

Profiler