HUMINT (as in “human intelligence”) is a 2026 South Korean thriller from writer/director Ryoo Seung-wan (THE CITY OF VIOLENCE, ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU). It stars Zo In-sung (THE GREAT BATTLE) as Manager Zo, an agent for South Korea’s National Intelligence Service who goes undercover to bust human traffickers.
In the opening he’s at a brothel to record the final testimony of his informant, Soo-rin, on the last day before they’re supposed to get her out and back to her family. When she escaped North Korea she was trafficked by the Russian mafia and now is heavily scarred, addicted and desperate. The trouble is that Zo’s handlers, talking to him in his earpiece, are only interested in the narcotics part of her story, and aren’t sure she’s given them enough. After Soo-rin causes a scene that draws the attention of her pimp, Zo learns that the budget to move her hasn’t even been approved yet. He bows his head and asks his team, “Is this seriously… the best we can do?”
Soo-rin gets a beating while he follows his orders to walk away and “not engage.” Except then he thinks better of it, and there’s an excellent fight scene. When more thugs arrive he pulls his gun, and his handlers tell him, “If you open fire there’s no turning back.” He thinks about it for a moment, then turns the gun around and uses it like a hammer. (read the rest of this shit…)
