Sue Mi Terry, a former Central Intelligence Agency and White House official, was indicted Tuesday for allegedly providing South Korean intelligence officers access, information and advocacy in return for luxury goods and funding.
The 54-year-old was arrested Tuesday and was charged with one count of conspiracy under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Terry has written for various media outlets and appeared on television as a news analyst. She “allegedly sold out her positions and influence to the South Korean government in return for luxury handbags, expensive meals and thousands of dollars of funding for her public policy program,” according to Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, who along with Christie Curtis, acting assistant director in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, revealed the indictment.
In a statement, Terry’s attorney, Lee Wolosky of Jenner & Block LLP, said the allegations are “unfounded and distort the work of a scholar and news analyst known for her independence and years of service to the United States. Dr. Terry has not held a security clearance for over a decade and her views on matters relating to the Korean peninsula have been consistent over many years.”
Wolosky’s statement continued, “In fact, she was a harsh critic of the South Korean government during times this indictment alleges that she was acting on its behalf. Once the facts are made clear, it will be evident the government made a significant mistake.”
Between 2001 and 2011, Terry held a series of U.S. governmental roles including acting as an analyst on East Asian issues for the CIA; as the director for South Korea, Japan and oceanic affairs for the White House National Security Council, and as the deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council. After exiting governmental posts around 2011, Terry worked at academic institutions and think tanks in New York City and Washington, D.C. Terry has also made media appearances, published articles and hosted conferences as a policy expert specializing in South Korea, North Korea and various regional issues impacting Asia, according to the indictment. She also has testified before Congress at least three times regarding the U.S. government’s policy toward North Korea.
Terry has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and worked for six years as an analyst for MSNBC News and NBC News, until March, according to her LinkedIn page. Her work experience included being an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a senior research scholar at Columbia University.
Since leaving U.S. government service, Terry acted as “a valuable source of information” for the ROK National Intelligence Service, according to a press release about her indictment. Government officials claimed that Terry took part in an off-the-record group meeting with an unnamed U.S. Secretary of State regarding the U.S. government’s policy toward North Korea and then was picked up by a car bearing ROK embassy diplomatic license plates. While in the car, Terry allegedly provided her handler detailed handwritten notes of her meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State, which were photographed by the handler. Weeks later, Terry allegedly hosted a happy hour for Congressional staff under the auspices of the think tank where she worked, and her handler attended posing as a diplomat without disclosing that he was a ROK intelligence officer.
Terry was allegedly rewarded by the ROK government for her services with designer items like a $2,950 Bottega Veneta handbag and a $3,450 Louis Vuitton handbag, which she allegedly selected during shopping trips with handlers. She was also said to have been gifted a $2,845 Dolce & Gabbana coat, meals at Michelin-starred restaurants and an unrestricted gift account of $37,000 that she allegedly controlled at the think tank, where she worked.
Government officials alleged that for more than 10 years, “despite repeated warnings,” she exploited her think tank roles to advance a foreign agenda. Those claims include using “her position to influence U.S. policy in favor of South Korea…for money and luxury gifts.” They also alleged her actions posed a “severe threat to national security.”
Williams said, “The charges brought should send a clear message to those in public policy who may be tempted to sell their expertise to a foreign government to think twice and ensure you are in accordance with the law.”
Most recently, Terry worked as a senior fellow for Korean studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. A media request to the Council on Foreign Relations was unreturned Wednesday. If convicted, Terry faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
