For Pyo Chang-won, 50, Sherlock Holmes was not just a fictional character.
Describing himself as a violent child, Pyo said he used to vent his anger “out of frustration” after seeing many adults whose actions and behavior were contradictory.
The odd but brilliant detective who solved mysterious murder cases in 19th-century London, however, relieved young Pyo from the pain of living with thousands of unanswered questions, he said, such as reasons for not being favored by teachers like other rich kids.
“I was mesmerized by the logical strength of the character who punished the evil-doers not necessarily with physical force but with reasoning power,” he said an interview with The Korea Herald. “I wanted to be like him in a vague imagination, to solve riddles of our lives and tell who the real bad guys are.”
The curiosity and the thirst for truth and justice led him to attend the Korea National Police University, a state-run school for elite police officers. After graduation, Pyo started as a police inspector investigating criminal cases at local police stations in South Korea.
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| Pyo Chang-won, director of Pyo Institute of Crime Science (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald) |
However, things were not quite what he had imagined. He was not making noticeable progress in investigations. Other veteran investigators told him, in apparent efforts to cheer him up, that he may have to spend another 20 years to develop his instinct and guts to solve the cases.
“I didn’t want to wait for another 20 years,” he said. “Then I thought of Sherlock Holmes, believing that England could show me a different way,” he said, adding that the country developed techniques to solve cases based on a scientific approach for more than 200 years.
Pyo then attended University of Exeter and earned both a masters and Ph.D. in police studies. After his extensive research and studies on criminology and investigative methods, he came to realize that it was not the scientific techniques that South Korea lacked, it was the system that ignored a neutral investigation open to all possiblities.
“We often jump to conclusions that most of criminal cases involve people who are close to the victim, and start the investigation from there,” he said. “If it turns out that not one on the list was the real culprit, the case ends up as a mystery.”
Pyo said his destiny as a criminal profiler started there: to start an investigation by assessing the evidence at a crime scene first, reconstruct the scene, make judgements on what likely happened and to find the truth behind the lies and the mystery left behind by a crime.
He became the nation’s first profiler investigating high-profile cases on serial killers and unsolved cases while working as a professor at KNPU to teach criminal psychology and investigations. Pyo began receiving public attention after he appeared on local TV programs such as an in-depth investigative program “The Unanswered” where he interviewed as a profiler to offer his assessment of many unsolved criminal cases.
The fluent, outspoken speaker with extensive knowledge of criminal cases and assessment of the mentality of criminals, soon wowed the audience. He also began to write columns on a wide range of fields including politics, culture and labor. Pyo become more and more open to express his criticism and analysis of controversial social issues that persisted through the Korean society, not only through the mass media, but also through social networking. But then in 2012, Pyo criticized the police for being passive in its investigation into the spy agency’s alleged interference in the presidential election.
“I was deeply hurt by fellow police officers, calling me an internal enemy and betrayer,” he said. “I could have been stigmatized if I distorted the truth for my own self-interest, but I was not. I believed in the truth,” he said.
As his remarks stirred controversy, he voluntarily stepped down as professor at the state-run university that year.
Though the resignation was not something “intended,” Pyo said, it led him to embrace more, limitless opportunities. He became more active in writing, publishing more than 10 books including “Enemies of Justices (2014),” “Dignity of Conservatives (2013)” and “I want to live like Sherlock Holmes (2013).” He also appeared on several TV shows including “Sisa Dolgikgu” in which he hosted a number of live debate sessions on sensitive political and social issues raised in South Korea.
Currently, he is the founder and the director of Pyo Institute of Crime Science, a civilian research and training lab, dedicated to educate young Koreans aspiring to become criminal profilers. He even got more exposed to the public, appealing with his image of charismatic, clear-headed, and self-made man by making the cover of fashion magazines.
In his books, Pyo constantly compares the two groups of criminals ― from the upper class and the working class ― offering a view that not every criminal is treated equally.
For instance, he tells the story of Chun Kyung-hwan, younger brother of former militant President Chun Doo-hwan, on how he was able to stay away from prison for years, citing health, despite charges of multiple frauds and tax evasion. Pyo also writes about Chung Won-seop, the owner of a local cartoon book store, who served 15 years in prison after he was forced to make a confession on killing a girl in 1972 although he didn’t. After 39 years, Chung was found innocent by the top court in 2011.
“The reason why I make a comparison between the two groups is because this makes me sad,” he said.
“Trust is the key to investigations and the jurisdiction process. I want to say that the public won’t be able to trust any law enforcement agencies or even the courts as long as they keep treating people differently in regard to their status in society.”
Living as a critic is a difficult, tiring and unpaid task, he said, stressing that he wants to extend his belief in justice through a novel he has been working on.
The versatile writer has recently finished his first fiction, a mystery novel written for children aspiring to become profilers like him. The book, to be released next month, tells the story of a boy named Seollok whose parents were murdered, and he becomes a criminal profiler investigating mystery cases.
“I was tired of being at the center of disputes, watching people clash over their own interests,” he said.
When asked about his future plans, Pyo said he is open to new things but he would dedicate himself more to writing ― something that could inspire next generations, probably like Sherlock was to him when he was young.
“I want to do something promising and productive for the next generation, something that can help them pursue universal truth and cultivate the power that could penetrate the dark.”
By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)
