After his gripping hostage-rescue role, Hyun Bin named honorary counterintelligence officer by NIS

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced this on the 7th, stating, "Hyun Bin plans to take part in various activities to widely promote NIS and the importance of counterintelligence."

Counterintelligence refers to all response activities aimed at detecting, deterring, and blocking foreign intelligence operations that run counter to national security and the national interest.

The appointment was made in connection with the recent revision of the espionage provision, in order to promote an accurate understanding of counterintelligence and its importance, which had long been viewed only in the narrow sense of "tracking down and arresting North Korean spies."

In February, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea revised Article 98 of the Criminal Act, expanding the scope of the espionage offense from enemy states to foreign states. As a result, not only North Korea but all sophisticated espionage activities conducted by foreign countries are now covered by the crime of espionage.

Previously, in the 2023 film The Point Men, Hyun Bin played an NIS agent who fights to the end to rescue South Korean hostages who have been abducted.

An NIS official said, "Recently, incidents such as the leakage of advanced technologies and defense industry secrets by foreign actors, which threaten the nation's survival, have been occurring with increasing frequency, making counterintelligence ever more important," adding, "Together with honorary counterintelligence officer Hyun Bin, NIS will actively strive to meet public expectations through airtight counterintelligence operations following the revision of the espionage provision."

Meanwhile, Hyun Bin recently connected with audiences through the Disney+ original series Made in Korea, released in December last year. He is currently reported to be in the midst of filming Season 2 of the series.

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.