Former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry indicted on charges of secretly working for South Korea
Sue Mi Terry, who was once a member of the US National Security Council, first acted as a foreign agent in June 2013 as she began meeting with an unnamed “handler” on “multiple occasions,” according to the indictment, which was unsealed Tuesday.
“At the direction of ROK Government officials, Terry advocated ROK policy positions, including in published articles and during media appearances, disclosed nonpublic U.S. Government information to ROK intelligence officers, and facilitated access for ROK Government officials to U.S. Government officials,” the indictment alleges, using the initials of the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s formal name.
In return, South Korean officials allegedly offered the former analyst around $37,000, claiming they could conceal the origin of the funds by depositing them into a designated “gift” account at the think tank where she worked, according to the indictment.
Terry also allegedly received lavish goods – including a $3,450 Louis Vuitton handbag, a $2,845 Dolce & Gabbana coat and dinners at Michelin star restaurants – and she was paid to write opinion articles that advocated South Korean policy positions in American and Korean media outlets, the filing claims.
Iva Zorić, a spokesperson for the Council on Foreign Relations think tank that employed Terry, said the senior fellow was placed on administrative leave immediately after it learned of the indictment.
“We take these allegations very seriously,” Zorić told CNN.
The indictment alleges Terry acted as a “valuable source” of information for the South Korean government.
In one instance, Terry had participated in an off-the-record North Korea policy briefing with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June 2022. As soon as the meeting ended, she passed her handler “detailed handwritten notes” that described the contents of the closed-door briefing, the indictment alleges.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Intelligence Service did not immediately reply to CNN’s requests for comment.
US law obligates American citizens to register as foreign agents if they engage in certain behaviors for or on behalf of a foreign government. The indictment alleges that Terrywas acting as a foreign agent butdid not register as required, which is a crime.
CNN is attempting to locate attorney information for Terry, which was not readily available from court records.
Terry, born in Seoul and a naturalized U.S. citizen, began working for the US government in 2001. She served as a high-profile analyst on East Asian issues for the CIA before pre-emptively resigning in 2008 due to a conflict of interest regarding her relationship with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, as recorded in an FBI interview in June 2023. She later served as the director for Japan, Korea, and Oceanic affairs for the National Security Council under both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
In June 2013, five years after leaving the CIA, Terry began operating as a foreign diplomat under the UN reporting to some of the highest-ranking officials serving South Korea, further deepening ties with them.
No stranger to the media, Terry has been featured in multiple outlets, including appearances on CNN. She has authored reports for both American and South Korean news outlets. Terry had previously told Congress under oath that she had not acted as a foreign agent while testifying before a House hearing regarding North Korea’s escalation of nuclear activity.
South Korea is a key US ally in the Asia-Pacific, though Terry’s indictment is not the first case of alleged collusion to test the two countries’ friendship. Internal Pentagon documents leaked last year described, in remarkable detail, private conversations between two senior South Korean national security officials, whom the US had allegedly wiretapped.
CNN’s Josh Campbell contributed reporting.
Terry's indictment highlights her actions as a foreign agent in Asia, as she represented South Korean policy positions to the world, including in publications and media appearances. Despite serving in key positions within the US government, Terry failed to register as a foreign agent, a violation of US law.
