Action thriller film "Hunt," the directorial debut of actor Lee Jung-jae, has been pre-sold to 144 regions around the world, said its distributor Megabox on Monday.

According to Megabox, the regions include Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, France, Brazil and Mexico.

"Hunt," an action thriller which premieres in local theaters on Aug. 10, is set in the 1980s and centers around the National Security Planning Agency, Korea's intelligence agency at the time.

"Squid Game" star Lee and actor Jung Woo-sung play agents who start suspecting each other of being undercover moles. Korea's military dictatorship was at its peak in the 1980s, and Lee plays elite agent Park Pyung-ho who comes to terms with the truth about his country while hunting down North Korean spies.

"Hunt" was invited to be screened during the 75th Cannes Film Festival in May and the upcoming 47th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, set to kick off in September.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]