My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 678

Sponsorship isn’t some heinous crime; it’s simply an agreement between consenting adults.

The reason sex-related websites based overseas were shut down in the past wasn’t because consensual sex was illegal, but because they were linked to other sex crimes.

“If you join here, you can find a sponsor. The membership fee is 5 million won [approximately $3,700 USD] for men, and it’s free for women.”

“I understand.”

The typical amount exchanged in a sponsorship is around 3 to 4 million won [approximately $2,200 to $3,000 USD] per month.

A man with the financial means to provide that level of sponsorship would find a 5 million won membership fee trivial.

“Women join to find men who will sponsor them.”

If both parties agree, they exchange contact information, and if they like each other, a sponsorship relationship naturally forms.

“I had no idea.”

“The police don’t know everything. Besides, divorce falls under family law, not police jurisdiction.”

“That’s true.”

“Wouldn’t this be a cleaner option for Hong Woo-jong?”

Certainly, there are brokers who mediate sponsorships. However, these brokers often act like pimps.

“I guess that’s true. And those guys wouldn’t connect just anyone.”

“That’s right.”

The targets seeking sponsorship are mostly wealthy men. Naturally, they’ll want someone like an aspiring entertainer.

“But general sponsorships are different. You might not know the prices, but celebrity sponsorships can exceed 10 million won [approximately $7,400 USD] per month. They don’t give that much to regular people.”

“I understand.”

According to Lee Jung-yeon, the sponsorship cost for somewhat attractive, regular women is around 3 to 4 million won [approximately $2,200 to $3,000 USD] per month.

“Brokers don’t get involved for that kind of money. And not all wealthy people are trying to sponsor celebrities.”

Someone earning around 20 million won [approximately $14,800 USD] a month might be able to afford a regular person sponsorship, but not a celebrity sponsorship.

“But a young woman in her 20s can get a sponsor.”

“Hmm…”

Park Do-joon searched the internet and frowned.

“There are more similar places than I thought?”

“Right? But almost all of them are scam sites.”

“A scam? Well, it’s an easy scam to pull off.”

Due to the nature of sponsorship, it’s easy to collect membership fees, but hard to report. Even if they take the membership fee from a wealthy man and disappear, the man can’t report it; he can’t do anything.

“But what about this place?”

“It’s real. I heard about it during a lawsuit.”

Park Do-joon frowned at that.

“Does that mean there might be other places you don’t know about?”

“That’s right.”

“…So this is how people find sponsors these days.”

Park Do-joon checked the site address again, sighed, and said,

“For now, be careful. We don’t know what Hong Woo-jong will do.”

“Okay. But even if you know about this, can you investigate it?”

“I don’t know? I’ll have to look into it.”

Park Do-joon moved the site address to his phone’s notepad and said with a reluctant expression,

“I checked, and it’s an American company, just like you said. They won’t give us the member information.”

“That’s messed up.”

Park Do-joon was dumbfounded by the predictable situation.

Everything is in Korean, but they claim to be an American company and don’t follow Korean law.

“There are plenty of companies like that, aren’t there, Detective Park?”

“I guess that’s true.”

The problem is that there’s no way to stop these companies.

Blocking access to them in Korea is illegal unless they severely violate current laws, and there are countless such sites.

The act of sponsorship is ambiguously legal and illegal.

The law people call the Special Act on Sex Trafficking punishes those who arrange sex trafficking, but according to that law, the victims of sex trafficking, i.e., women, are not punished, only the buyers and intermediaries.

In the case of these sites, it can’t be seen as an arrangement.

They came and talked on their own.

The site only provided the opportunity to meet, not arranged sex trafficking.

So there’s no regulation to punish it.

Women are not subject to punishment, so they can’t be prosecuted.

In the case of men, it’s impossible to request data from the US in the first place, so tracking is impossible.

“Why so gloomy?”

Jo Sang-gyu said with a sullen expression.

“The number of missing women hasn’t been small recently, has it?”

“It’s high.”

“Could it be…”

It’s certainly not impossible. Why are sex workers targets for serial killers? Because of the secrecy. They meet secretly and have relationships secretly.

If they’re openly dating, many people around them know, but sex isn’t visible to people.

“Besides, sex work is safer these days.”

“What? What do you mean, Detective?”

“Where do you think they do sex work?”

“Well… I see. It’s surprisingly safe.”

“Right.”

Women who openly engage in sex work are safe.

People who don’t know the situation well won’t know.

Of course, the risk is higher compared to regular women, so the possibility of becoming a victim is much higher.

But their safety has increased compared to the past.

“Especially in Korea, almost all sex work takes place in designated locations.”

The few remaining red-light districts are still crowded, and bars also have staff stationed in connection with motels.

Even if that’s not the case, the motels where relationships take place have 100% CCTV installed, so there are clear limitations for criminals to commit murder or assault.

“But realistically, this so-called sponsorship structure is structurally the most vulnerable.”

Even Jo Sang-gyu said with a sullen expression.

“Because the buyer has the power of mobility.”

“Yes, that’s a big problem. The US is also struggling with it. That’s why places like Amsterdam have legalized sex work, but there’s no harm from it.”

It’s a common misconception that sex work makes you a target for criminals.

To be precise, the problem arises when the target goes to a secret place and is exposed to danger at the criminal’s command.

In fact, a significant number of sex workers in the US are victims of robbery or murder every year because of the unique American method.

Women who want to engage in sex work seduce passing vehicles on the street, and the buyer picks up a woman who suits their taste and moves her to the location they want.

Because of this method, the police don’t even recognize the case until the body is found.

“On the other hand, Amsterdam has legally confined them to one place.”

As a result, the buyer’s mobility is naturally restricted, and they lose the opportunity to kill or assault the victim.

“Preconceptions are scary like this.”

Lee Ji-soo shook her head without realizing it.

She herself had taken it for granted that sex workers were likely to be victimized and had never thought about the right to mobility.

“Meeting strangers can certainly increase the possibility of harm. But it doesn’t necessarily increase the possibility of murder.”

Because even if they have the purpose of murder, people will rush in from the surroundings as soon as they hear screams.

“But women belonging to these sponsorship sites…”

“It’s funny to put this as an explanation.”

“Yes, but it’s an accurate expression.”

Absurd advice on sponsorship sites.

If you want to get sponsored, be nice to the other person. Accommodate everything.

In fact, this is not wrong.

“And ‘accommodate’ means giving up the right to mobility.”

“Sponsorship doesn’t just mean sex.”

People think of sponsorship as just sex.

But the word sponsorship itself comes from sponsor. That is, it means supporter.

So there are various forms of sponsorship.

For example, it is true that there is sponsorship that involves sexual favors in the entertainment industry, but giving that person the opportunity itself is also included in the concept of sponsorship.

For example, if a director thinks of an actor as his muse and tries to create a place for that actor in his work, it is also a kind of sponsorship concept in the industry.

It’s just not the dirty image that people think of.

Conversely, if a wealthy person supports an unknown singer with pure fandom, it is called sponsorship in itself.

“The important thing is that either way, the sponsor is the boss, and the one receiving it is the subordinate.”

“Hoo…”

But if that person says, ‘Let’s go out for a nice meal,’ can the subordinate refuse?

“In fact, there have been so many cases where people who thought they were pure sponsors dragged them out and raped them.”

Jo Sang-gyu said with a sullen face.

“Of course, murder is possible too.”

“Yes, but in this case, we won’t even recognize the case itself.”

She voluntarily got into the car, so it’s not kidnapping.

Even if someone reports her missing, they won’t know where she got into which car.

“Besides, most of these women are independent.”

“I guess so.”

Sponsorship is like treating a person as an object and playing with them, as Park Do-joon said.

Of course, they call them all the time.

Well, they may set conditions such as calling only once a week through a contract, but realistically, that’s not the case.

“It’s hard to pinpoint the time of disappearance.”

“That’s right. Besides, in general, women who seek and move with this kind of sponsorship often have bad relationships with their families.”

No matter how much the world has developed and changed, sex work basically has a bad image, especially for women.

As a result, women who have grown up receiving love in good families often do not try to achieve something through sex work.

It’s not just because it’s bad.

People who try to achieve something or fulfill their desires, even if they do illegal things, are generally in a state of some kind of deficiency.

And one of the biggest causes of such deficiencies is an abnormal family environment.

“So they won’t contact each other often.”