Sue Mi Terry, a former senior official at the White House National Security Council and CIA analyst, has been indicted on charges of acting as an unregistered agent for the South Korean government. The indictment, made public in a New York federal court, accuses Terry of receiving luxury gifts in exchange for promoting South Korean policy positions and disclosing nonpublic U.S. government information.
The indictment alleges that Terry, who worked for the U.S. government from 2001 to 2011, began her covert activities in 2013, two years after leaving her government position. Prosecutors claim Terry received luxury items such as designer handbags, a Dolce & Gabbana coat, and meals at Michelin-starred restaurants as compensation for her actions. Surveillance footage purportedly shows Terry with South Korean handlers making these purchases.
Former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry has been charged with serving as a secret agent for South Korea's intelligence service in exchange for luxury handbags and sushi dinners.
Read more on this story here ➡️ https://t.co/4ZeVou7BIU— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 17, 2024
Despite warnings from the FBI in 2014 about potential approaches from South Korean intelligence officers, Terry continued her activities for nearly a decade. The indictment includes her admission in a voluntary FBI interview last year, where she acknowledged providing valuable information to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS).
She also admitted resigning from the CIA due to concerns about her contacts with NIS officers.
Ex-CIA official doubled as secret South Korea agent in exchange for designer handbags, high-end sushi dinners: feds https://t.co/GfR16HCyLf pic.twitter.com/Z8Sgmx0See
— New York Post (@nypost) July 17, 2024
Prosecutors detail that Terry received gifts including a $2,950 Bottega Veneta handbag and a $3,450 Louis Vuitton handbag. Additionally, she was provided with more than $37,000 in covert funding for a public policy program focusing on Korean affairs, which she ran.
At the time of her indictment, Terry was a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), specializing in East Asian affairs. Following the indictment, CFR placed her on unpaid administrative leave and removed her biography from their website. Terry's lawyer, Lee Wolosky, has called the allegations unfounded, asserting that her work as a scholar and analyst demonstrated independence and service to the United States. Wolosky claims that Terry was a critic of the South Korean government during the period she is alleged to have been acting on its behalf.
The indictment also accuses Terry of writing opinion pieces at the request of South Korean officials. In one instance, she solicited information from a South Korean official for an op-ed, which she co-authored with her husband, Washington Post columnist Max Boot. The op-ed did not disclose any involvement from the South Korean government, raising further questions about her activities.
Terry’s indictment underscores the complexities and risks involved in international espionage, highlighting the need for vigilance and adherence to legal protocols in foreign policy and intelligence operations.
Treason is punishable by Hanging And Firing Squad.