The Players in the Shadows: Profiles from the National Intelligence Service, Police, Military, and Political Circles
Notice: Setting) Character Introduction: National Intelligence Service, Police, Army, Politics (The ages of these characters are based on 2027.)
National Intelligence Service
1. Na Jonghyun is the current Deputy Director of the NIS and a close acquaintance of Park Minhyeok, the father of the protagonist Park Jaehyuk. He maintains a friendly relationship with Cha Jinyong, but in reality, he does not agree with Cha Jinyong's ambitions. He plans to use Cha Jinyong's weaknesses to become the true non-public figure behind the scenes in South Korea. He hired hackers in China to obtain information on Park Minhyeok's family, and then used that information to take Park Minhyeok's family hostage to force him to cooperate with him.
Age: 52 years old
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 83 kg
Blood type: A
2. Han Gichan is the current Deputy Director of the NIS and a close acquaintance of Park Minhyeok, the father of Park Jaehyuk. He had a career as a black agent in Seonyang, China, and was saved by Minhyeok at that time. He has since become close to Minhyeok, and few people in the NIS know about their close relationship. During the dissolution of the Bukdutchilseong team, he secretly helped Minhyeok's escape, and after receiving Park Minhyeok's cooperation, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Director of the NIS. Currently, he cooperates with him and provides information on those who cooperate with Cha Jinyong within the NIS.
Age: 52 years old
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Blood type: AB
3. Nam Sang-hoon is a former Deputy Director of the NIS. He was in a cooperative relationship with Cha Jinyong, but due to Park Minhyeok's scheme, Han Gichan became the Deputy Director and he stepped down from the position.
Age: 53 years old
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 85 kg
Blood type: A
4. Lee Yeonghwan is the head of the Domestic Division 1 and the NIS supervisor for the Big Brother Project. He provided most of the information on Gangryonghoe organization members to Jaehyuk when Jaehyuk infiltrated the syndicate. He is one of those cooperating with Cha Jinyong and selects suitable North Korean defectors or captured NIS agents to send to Cha Jinyong's private military group, Yeonghoda.
Age: 45 years old
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 82 kg
Blood type: B
5. Baek Gang-san is the head of Domestic Division 5. He first appeared in episode 152 and reported the movements of the Komarov Bratva to Na Jonghyun. He also cooperates with Cha Jinyong and provides information on internal NIS situations to him.
Age: 43 years old
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 84 kg
Blood type: O
6. Jo Gyeongwon is a subordinate of NIS Deputy Director Na Jonghyun and one of the team leaders of the NIS Strike Team. He first appeared in episode 50 briefing operations related to Katsuyama-gumi.
Age: 35 years old
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 84 kg
Blood type: O
Specialty: Martial arts, Krav Maga, CQB
7. Gang Byeongsik is an NIS undercover agent infiltrating the Crown Hotel headquarters. He is currently 30 years old, 181 cm tall, weighs 80 kg, and has blood type O. His specialties are information gathering, hapkido, and hacking.
8. Baek Myeong-hwan is an NIS undercover agent infiltrating the Crown Hotel Suwon branch. He is currently 30 years old, 182 cm tall, weighs 83 kg, and has blood type A. His specialties are Krav Maga, firearms, and jujitsu.
Pluto Team
The elite black ops team within the NIS, specializing in special secret operations related to South Korea around the world. Some of the missions they have performed, if only a portion were revealed, would cause chaos across all of East Asia. For example, they have performed missions to destroy North Korean nuclear and biological weapons manufacturing facilities.
1. Baek Dongjin (Bulldog) is one of the three elite agents of the Pluto team. He first appeared in episode 73 and helped Jaehyuk and Jeonghan by going to Vietnam with other agents. Later, in Vietnam, he met Jin Ga-young and Ma Dong-beom and tried to kill them. Real name: Baek Dongjin. Age: 29 years old. Height: 185 cm. Weight: 87 kg. Blood type: A. Specialty: Krav Maga, Wrestling, Information Gathering.
2. Cheon Gwanghan (Chilsa) is one of the three elite agents of the Pluto team. He first appeared in episode 147 and escorted Na Jonghyun, who had come to Park Minhyeok's hideout to request cooperation. Real name: Cheon Gwanghan. Age: 28 years old. Height: 182 cm. Weight: 83 kg. Blood type: O. Specialty: Special forces martial arts, Jujitsu, Firearms.
3. Salmu-sa is one of the three elite agents of the Pluto team and the youngest of the three, though his experience is said to surpass that of many veteran agents. He has performed numerous black ops since the age of 19, including solo missions. Real name: Shin Juhwan. Age: 25 years old. Height: 178 cm. Weight: 81 kg. Blood type: O. Specialty: CQB, Assassination, Hacking.
Bukdutchilseong Team
1. Park Minhyeok is the father of Park Jaehyuk and the leader of the Bukdutchilseong team. He was an elite NIS Black Ops team leader who went into hiding and faked his death 25 years ago to protect his family from international syndicates and corrupt politicians like Cha Jinyong. His wife Sejin was pregnant with Dahyun when North Korea tried to sell large-scale biological weapons to criminal organizations, and he has since performed countless black ops while officially being a non-person. He performed the black ops "White Night" related to the presidential election and retired to meet his family, but discovered a massive conspiracy that led to the dissolution of the team and his abandonment by the NIS. He now builds a vigilante group from retired NIS and NIS agents and talented individuals to take revenge in the shadows.
Age: 52 years old
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Blood type: B
Specialty: Induction, Hacking, Marksmanship
2. Jeong Seung-gyu is Park Minhyeok's right-hand man and deputy leader of the Bukdutchilseong team. He is a former UDU special agent who can blend into any environment. His light appearance leads people to mistake him for a thug, but he is a master of both information operations through hacking and direct action. After the Bukdutchilseong team dissolved, he has been operating as an information broker in the underworld to secure information on Cha Jinyong and his cartel.
Age: 38 years old
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Blood type: B
Specialty: CQB, Hacking, Information Gathering
3. Seo Gyu-hak is Park Minhyeok's left-hand man and deputy leader of the Bukdutchilseong team. He is a former UDU special agent who was scouted for the elite NIS black ops team Pluto. After the Bukdutchilseong team dissolved, he has been working with Minhyeok and his colleagues to confront Cha Jinyong and his cartel while disguising himself as a hitman.
Age: 38 years old
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 78 kg
Blood type: AB
Specialty: CQB, Assassination, Underwater Operations
4. Baek Junghwan is Seo Gyu-hak's direct subordinate. Age: 37 years old. Height: 182 cm. Weight: 80 kg. Blood type: AB. Specialty: Special forces martial arts, Sniping, Knife fighting.
5. Ma Dong-beom is Jeong Seung-gyu's direct subordinate. He was collecting information on Cha Jinyong in Vietnam with Jin Ga-young when Baek Dongjin realized their existence. He escaped while sending Jin Ga-young to safety and fought Baek Dongjin to buy her time. Age: 36 years old. Height: 177 cm. Weight: 79 kg. Blood type: B. Specialty: Special forces martial arts, Firearms, Bowling.
6. So Min-jung is Seo Gyu-hak's direct subordinate. Age: 37 years old. Height: 168 cm. Weight: 50 kg. Blood type: AB. Specialty: Special forces martial arts, Assassination, Swimming.
7. Jin Ga-young is Jeong Seung-gyu's direct subordinate. She was collecting information on Cha Jinyong in Vietnam with Ma Dong-beom when she was pursued by Baek Dongjin. She later met Jaehyuk and Jeonghan, gave them a USB containing partial information on Cha Jinyong, and told Jaehyuk to find Pigeon (Jeong Seung-gyu) after returning to Korea to ask about his father.
Age: 36 years old
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 48 kg
Blood type: A
Specialty: Assassination, Information Gathering, Concealment
Police
1. Ma Seung-cheol is the head of the Investigation Planning Division (chief superintendent) and the police supervisor for the Big Brother Project. He was the one who recruited Jaehyuk into the undercover operation in his previous life as well. He is one of the people involved in the failed Pig Project undercover operation against Gangryonghoe. He has a gentle charisma and high popularity among police, but Jaehyuk does not trust him, believing he is just one of the corrupt higher-ups in the police. In Jaehyuk's previous life, Ma Seung-cheol anonymously paid for Park Dahyun's medical bills while she was hospitalized from a hit-and-run accident.
Age: 52 years old
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 73 kg
Blood type: AB
2. Min Taeseok is a detective in the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Tactical Response Unit and an older brother figure to Jaehyuk and Dahyun. In Jaehyuk's previous life, he was killed in a staged traffic accident while investigating weapons deals between Gangryonghoe and the Komarov Bratva. In this life, Jaehyuk saved him with his help, and after graduating from Police University, Taeseok has been active in the Tactical Response Unit. He is disappointed in Jaehyuk when he learns he is undercover but treats Jaehyuk and Dahyun like siblings. He even risked his life to save Jaehyuk from a Russian killer.
Age: 35 years old
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Blood type: O
Specialty: Kickboxing, Hapkido, Special forces martial arts
3. Heo Jeong-tae is Jaehyuk's classmate at Police University and a police officer in Daegu. He is currently undercover at the Crown Capital Busan branch and occasionally helps Jaehyuk with missions. He joined the undercover operation because his brother, a police officer, was killed by a Gangryonghoe organization member while investigating a murder, and he wanted to find the killer.
Age: 27 years old
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 78 kg
Blood type: A
Specialty: Firearms, Taekwondo, Hacking
Military
1. Jin Se-ho is the commander of the 707 Special Mission Group and the military supervisor for the Big Brother Project. Age: 50 years old. Height: 180 cm. Weight: 86 kg. Blood type: A.
2. Kim Nam-ho is an undercover agent from the 13th Special Mission Regiment. He is infiltrating the Crown Trade Seoul branch. Age: 29 years old. Height: 177 cm. Weight: 75 kg. Blood type: A. Specialty: Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Martial arts.
3. Gang Su-ho is an undercover agent from UDT/SEAL. In Jaehyuk's previous life, he helped him and died. He was an undercover agent infiltrating Crown Capital at the time. He became close to Jaehyuk through conversations during undercover work and provided information on Park Minho's death. After Jaehyuk's cover was blown, he helped Jaehyuk escape with Jeonghan, Hyeon Dong-cheol, and Seo Yeong-seok, but was fatally wounded in a fight with gang members and died. In this life, he is active undercover at the Crown Hotel headquarters and helps Jaehyuk. Age: 27 years old. Height: 183 cm. Weight: 84 kg. Blood type: B. Specialty: Marine warfare, CQB, Swimming.
4. Namgung-chan is an undercover agent from UDT/SEAL. He was infiltrating the Crown Hotel headquarters but died in action shortly after deployment, and Gang Su-ho took his place. Age: 28 years old. Height: 177 cm. Weight: 79 kg. Blood type: AB. Specialty: Hapkido, Firearms, Information Gathering.
5. Im Jeong-seok is an undercover agent from UDT/SEAL. He is infiltrating the Crown Capital Busan branch. Age: 28 years old. Height: 178 cm. Weight: 75 kg. Blood type: B. Specialty: Krav Maga, Parkour, Underwater Operations.
Politics
1. Cha Jinyong is the party leader of the ruling Seonmin Party. He was a chief prosecutor in the police and built his career by solving major crimes. In reality, he received bribes from criminals, manipulated investigations, and used political funds to build influence. He contacted corrupt NIS elements and gathered North Korean defectors and captured NIS agents to create his private military group Yeonghoda. He has used Yeonghoda to assassinate, kidnap, and blackmail opponents. He supplies guns to his business partner Gangryonghoe through Yeonghoda. When Park Minhyeok's Bukdutchilseong team discovered Cha Jinyong's crimes during the presidential election black ops, Cha Jinyong ordered his assassination, but the team escaped. Cha Jinyong is also one of the people who ordered the assassination of Park Minho, Jaehyuk's uncle, to stage it as suicide.
Age: 61 years old
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 70 kg
Blood type: A
2. Jo Nam-su is the former President of South Korea. He was impeached and jailed in 2019 due to the Burning Island Gate scandal. He was one of the people helped by Cha Jinyong to win the election. After his release in 2024, he lives in his residence but still seeks political influence and watches for opportunities to regain power.
Age: 64 years old
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Blood type: B
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Salmu-sa
Real name: Shin Juhwan
One of the three elite agents of the Pluto team and Park Jaehyuk's younger sister Park Dahyun's current boyfriend. Following Na Jonghyun's instructions, he approached Dahyun and is currently dating her while monitoring her side. Although he tries to avoid developing personal feelings for Dahyun to focus only on his mission, he seems to be gradually falling for her sincerely.
Age: 25 years old
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 81 kg
Blood type: O