The Justice Department has charged former CIA analyst and National Security Council official Sue Mi Terry with acting as a covert operative for South Korean intelligence in exchange for luxury gifts.
In its indictment, the Justice Department said Terry, 54, received lavish gifts, including handbags, expensive meals at sushi restaurants and $37,000 in funding for her public policy program on Korea issues, in exchange for advocating for the South Korean government’s position during media appearances, sharing personal information with intelligence agents and arranging meetings for South Korean officials with U.S. officials.
“Former CIA and White House official Soo Mi Terry allegedly violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act to provide access, information and assistance to South Korean intelligence officers,” U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said in a statement. “Terry allegedly sold her status and influence to the South Korean government in exchange for luxury handbags, expensive meals and thousands of dollars in funding for her own public policy programs.”
“This indictment sends a clear message to public policy practitioners who may be considering selling their expertise to foreign governments to think carefully and make sure they are following the law,” he continued.
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Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA officer and senior National Security Council official, was indicted on charges of acting as a covert operative for South Korean intelligence in exchange for luxury gifts. (Getty Images)
According to the indictment, Terry also confessed to the FBI that he acted as a source for South Korean intelligence, including providing the FBI with handwritten notes he took while he was present at a private meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2022 about the U.S. government’s North Korea policy.
“Compromising our national security compromises our defenses, puts lives at risk and puts all Americans at risk,” FBI Acting Deputy Director Christy M. Curtis said in a statement. “Former CIA and White House employee Sue Mi Terry was arrested for allegedly operating as an unregistered agent in South Korea. For more than a decade, Terry allegedly abused her role at a think tank to advance foreign policy despite repeated warnings.”
“As she claims, she leaked classified U.S. government information to South Korean intelligence and used her position to influence U.S. policy in South Korea’s favor in exchange for money and luxury gifts,” Curtis continued. “Her actions posed a serious threat to national security, and her arrest sends a clear message: The FBI will work with foreign spies to pursue and apprehend those who endanger our national security.”
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said on Wednesday that the country’s intelligence agencies were in close contact with the United States over the incident.
The allegations against Terry, who served in the US government from 2001 to 2011, stem from conduct after she left government to work as a foreign policy expert at a think tank.
Terry first served as a CIA analyst covering East Asian issues, then served as director for Korea, Japan and Maritime Affairs on the National Security Council and as deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia on the National Intelligence Council. After leaving government, she began working for think tanks in New York and Washington, D.C., including the Council on Foreign Relations.
Prosecutors charge that Terry failed to register as a foreign agent with the Department of Justice.
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Sue Mi Terry confessed to the FBI that she had been acting as a source for South Korean intelligence. (Getty Images)
In disclosure documents filed with the House of Representatives, where he testified at least three times between 2016 and 2022, Terry said he was not an “active enrollee.”
She also failed to disclose any covert operations with South Korea, denying Congress an opportunity to “fairly evaluate Terry’s testimony in light of her years of service to the government,” according to the indictment.
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In a statement, Terry’s lawyer, Lee Woloski, called the allegations “baseless” and “misrepresent the work of a scholar and news analyst known for his independence and longstanding commitment to the United States.”
Woloski said her client has not held security clearance for more than a decade and that her position has been consistent.
“In fact, during the period in which the indictment alleges she was acting on behalf of the South Korean government, she was harshly critical of the South Korean government,” he said. “When the facts come to light, it will become clear that the government made serious errors.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
