South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced Monday that it has appointed actor Hyun Bin as an "honorary counterintelligence agent" to raise public awareness about the concept and importance of counterintelligence.
Hyun Bin, who portrayed an NIS agent in the 2023 film "The Point Men," will participate in various activities alongside the agency to promote the significance of counterintelligence operations.
Counterintelligence refers to activities aimed at detecting, countering and blocking foreign intelligence operations that threaten national security and national interests.
A revision to the Criminal Act in February expanded the scope of espionage charges from "enemy states" to "foreign countries," establishing an institutional framework to protect national interests against espionage by any foreign entity, not just North Korea. Previously, counterintelligence had been largely understood as limited to rooting out North Korean spies.
"Cases threatening national survival, such as leaks of advanced technology and defense industry secrets by foreign actors, have become increasingly frequent, making counterintelligence more important than ever," an NIS official said. "We will actively meet the public's expectations through airtight counterintelligence operations."