My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 693

“Ah, that’s right.”

The woman sat with an air of confidence, her attire and accessories undeniably flashy. Yet, her nails were meticulously trimmed, devoid of even a trace of nail polish.

“That suggests she uses her hands frequently. If it’s IT-related, the work likely involves a keyboard.”

“I heard the server is managed from the United States?”

“That’s the physical server’s location. The software management would have been handled here. But consider this: while female programmers are uncommon, creating a prostitution-related site is a different matter entirely.”

“You need to know how to build it, right?”

“Exactly.”

Of course, anyone can have the idea. But most people lack the technical knowledge to execute it.

“You saw the site, didn’t you? What was written on it?”

“Something about the mindset needed to find a sponsor… some strange nonsense like that.”

“Right. But it’s not entirely wrong, either. What makes that possible?”

“That’s… ah, I see.”

You can only write that kind of thing if you know it firsthand. Even if it’s a small detail, someone who lacks that knowledge couldn’t write it convincingly. That’s impossible.

Of course, you could write something plausible. But other sites don’t feature that kind of talk. Only that specific site does.

If it’s a differentiating factor, it’s a differentiating factor, but at the same time, it means you have to be capable enough to be sure of it and give advice.

“Is it something only someone who has experienced it can know?”

“Yes.”

Jo Sang-gyu understood Park Do-joon’s point and nodded.

“She probably made a living by finding sponsors herself and thought this could be profitable.”

In reality, many sites claim to connect people with sponsors, but most are scams. Conversely, if a site guaranteed legitimacy, many people would pay for membership.

After all, from the sponsor’s perspective, the money paid to the site is relatively small.

“So, she launched it knowing it was illegal?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a headache. She won’t be cooperative, then.”

“The chances of someone who hired so many lawyers being cooperative are slim to begin with.”

She opened the site knowing it was illegal, which suggests she disregards social norms. And hiring lawyers indicates she has much to hide.

“I think she probably considered the possibility of murder, too?”

“Yes? Surely not!”

“You know what they say about ‘surely.’ Especially if she’s been sponsored before, I mean.”

Meeting a stranger without protection is never an easy decision. Money doesn’t guarantee good character.

“They meet knowing the risk?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s the power of money. As you can see, the site is still running, right?”

“That’s right.”

“What does that tell you? Even with the country in an uproar, plenty of guys still want to sponsor, and people still want to be sponsored.”

“Ah, ah, ah.”

Lee Ji-soo clicked her tongue. The site’s user base has undoubtedly decreased, but stories about sponsorship are still being posted.

“And.”

Park Do-joon sighed deeply.

“The problem is, that woman didn’t come alone.”

“Yes. She came with the lawyers.”

“No, no, that’s not it. You saw the business cards those lawyers gave you, right? They’re from the law firm Firebird.”

“Yes, but why is that significant?”

“Ah, you’re not familiar with law firms yet. Firebird has an incredibly strong reputation and high standards.”

They don’t take on mediocre cases. Typically, a lawyer’s appointment fee might be 5.5 million won [approximately $4,000 USD]. But Firebird refuses cases in that price range.

To hire a lawyer from Firebird, the minimum starting price is 30 million won [approximately $22,000 USD]. Per person.

“But there are four of them. So that’s 120 million [approximately $88,000 USD]. Do you understand? I don’t know how much that site makes, but… what kind of criminal charges would they even pin on that woman?”

“That’s….”

Lee Ji-soo frowned, considering Park Do-joon’s words.

“It’s ambiguous?”

“It’s ambiguous.”

Sponsorship is clearly illegal. But the question is whether it qualifies as mediation under the Special Act on Sex Trade [a South Korean law addressing prostitution and related activities].

The site facilitates contact, but officially it’s framed as blind dates, making it difficult to classify as prostitution.

Of course, with no precedent, an indictment is possible, but a skilled lawyer could prevent it.

Spending 120 million won on such a case doesn’t make sense. Even if prostitution mediation is proven, the penalty is a fine of around 20 million won [approximately $14,700 USD], making the legal expense disproportionate.

“Then?”

“Those people came to protect that woman and to act as surveillance.”

“Surveillance?”

“How many of the guys who sponsor are rich enough to have money to burn?”

“Ah….”

Those guys would want to keep it secret. Are the sponsors unmarried? Unlikely.

And being sponsored is a serious issue in a divorce. Some guys even use their wealthy in-laws’ money to give to their sponsored women.

“What would happen if they got caught in this case?”

A divorce lawsuit worth tens or hundreds of billions of won [tens or hundreds of millions of USD] could occur, not just a few hundred or thousand.

“So, they came to prevent that?”

“Probably.”

“This is driving me crazy.”

Jo Sang-gyu groaned and grabbed his head. This is a serial murder case. The key is tracking who signed up and who disappeared.

But to track them, the men’s identities must be revealed. Would those men allow that? Unlikely.

“They’ll desperately try to stop it.”

“They probably will.”

It’s not just anything; it’s a serial murder. A serial murder with an unknown number of victims. If the police start calling the sponsors, there will be a huge number, and their identities will likely be leaked by reporters waiting for a scoop.

Even if the reporters don’t reveal it, rumors will spread.

“Not just one woman, but a group of rich people….”

Jo Sang-gyu looked at the woman in the interrogation room, exasperated.

“My head is going to explode, really.”

“There’s no solution, is there?”

Park Do-joon didn’t step forward for the interrogation. Profiling is a science, a branch of psychology, not magic that controls people.

Mind control of Kim Song-rim was impossible, so he stayed back.

“Can’t you persuade her somehow?”

The interrogating officer asked Park Do-joon hopefully, but Park Do-joon shook his head.

“No, there’s no solution. Aren’t they trying to settle it with a fine?”

“That’s right.”

If they claimed innocence or protested being wronged, that could be used to understand their psychological state.

But bringing four lawyers exceeded expectations.

“They’re reflecting and will accept the punishment willingly.”

Generally, bringing many lawyers means they’re going to fight the charges.

But they come in droves and say they’re reflecting?

“In the end, you’re right, senior.”

“Yes, those lawyers didn’t come to plead.”

They came to monitor Kim Song-rim. And Kim Song-rim knows it. She knows that even if she admits guilt, punishment is virtually impossible.

“Yes? Why? She admitted guilt, didn’t she?”

“No. Ah, this is your first time dealing with people like this.”

“Yes.”

“It looks like she admitted guilt, but it’s a psychological trap.”

“A psychological trap?”

“She didn’t admit guilt, but said she would accept punishment if there was guilt.”

Kim Song-rim said she would reflect and accept it willingly if there was guilt.

“Now, here’s the problem. If you don’t recognize the guilt, what is the punishment?”

“Ah….”

Under current law, if the criminal doesn’t recognize the crime, the punishment is not given or is reduced.

“Of course, you can’t claim ignorance about something like murder. But let’s say you find a beautiful pine tree on national land and take it to your yard. Then what happens?”

“The average person might not know.”

“That’s right.”

If there’s a beautiful pine tree on national land, the ownership belongs to the state. Therefore, that also constitutes theft. But how do people recognize national land? Some don’t see it as ‘land owned by the state’ but as ‘land without an owner.’

Furthermore, the state didn’t grow that pine tree; it grew on its own, so you might think of it as a ‘tree without an owner.’

“That’s grounds for a reduction in punishment.”

The law related to the ownership of that tree is not criminal law but forestry law, which the public isn’t expected to know, so they might not know it’s illegal.

“But what about this case?”

“Ah….”

It’s ambiguous to classify it as prostitution, and it’s not directly related to murder.

“I’m assuming she has a history of being sponsored, but that’s just an assumption.”

You can’t punish or hold her responsible for that.

“If guilt is recognized, she’ll accept the punishment willingly, but it’s the police’s responsibility to prove that guilt, is that what she’s saying?”

“That’s right. It’s a play on words.”

Externally, she said, ‘I will accept the punishment willingly,’ so the words ‘reflecting’ will be in the trial or investigation record, but that doesn’t mean she’ll cooperate in proving that guilt.

The police can’t arbitrarily delete the words that she’s reflecting. Because those words were said with lawyers present, so if the police arbitrarily delete the statement, it’s a serious ethical violation.

“As a result, she’s saying she won’t be punished and won’t cooperate.”

“Wow, really….”

“And very few lawyers know how to use such political tactics. Firebird is skilled enough to use them.”

The problem is that Firebird is crazy to take on a case that might just be a prostitution case.

“Cooperation is out of the question.”

“That’s right. But one thing has become clear because of that.”

“Yes?”

“Kim Song-rim has no intention of closing down that business. To be exact, she probably has no intention of deleting the data hidden on the site.”

“Yes?”

“In this situation, what is the method of a typical criminal?”

“Site closure or record deletion.”

“That’s right?”