'The King's Warden,' 'Humint' vie for box-office crown during Lunar New Year holiday - Yonhap News Agency

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- Two Korean movies, "The King's Warden" and "Humint," are competing for first place at the domestic box office during the Lunar New Year holiday, data showed Saturday.

"The King's Warden," a historical drama, is leading the box-office chart, with an advance ticket sales rate of 44 percent as of 9 a.m., outperforming the 28.7 percent logged by action thriller "Humint."

Directed by Jang Hang-jun, the former reimagines historical events through a fictional lens, following the unlikely friendship between village chief Eom Heung-do (Yoo Hai-jin) and the young, deposed King Danjong (Park Ji-hoon) during the latter's exile in the village.

It has attracted nearly 1.5 million viewers since its Feb. 4 release, becoming the first Korean film this year to surpass the 1 million admission milestone.

A still from "The King's Warden" is seen in this image provided by Showbox Co. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The runner-up, Ryoo Seung-wan's action thriller "Humint," has drawn a cumulative audience of 304,738 since it was released Wednesday.

Short for human intelligence, "Humint" follows Manager Cho (Zo In-sung), a South Korean national intelligence officer who forms an unlikely cooperation with Park Gun, a North Korean intelligence officer, to save his crucial informant Chae Sun-hwa (Shin Se-kyung).

The extended holiday began Saturday and runs through Wednesday, with the Lunar New Year falling on Tuesday.

This still from "Humint," provided by NEW (Next Entertainment World), shows actor Zo In-sung as Manager Cho, a South Korean national intelligence officer. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)