Thursday, February 13, 2025

Former CIA Official Accused of Acting as Secret Agent for South Korean Intelligence

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A former CIA employee and senior official at the National Security Council has been charged with acting as a secret agent for South Korea’s intelligence service, the U.S. Justice Department announced.

Sue Mi Terry allegedly received luxury goods, such as high-end handbags, and expensive dinners at sushi restaurants in exchange for promoting South Korean government positions during media appearances, sharing confidential information with intelligence officers, and facilitating access for South Korean officials to U.S. government personnel, as detailed in an indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan.

According to the indictment, Terry admitted to the FBI that she provided information to South Korean intelligence. This included passing handwritten notes from an off-the-record June 2022 meeting she attended with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, regarding U.S. policy toward North Korea.

Prosecutors allege that South Korean intelligence officers covertly paid Terry over $37,000 for a public policy program she managed, which focused on Korean affairs.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the country’s primary spy agency, stated on Wednesday that intelligence authorities in both South Korea and the U.S. are in close communication regarding the case. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the case, citing its ongoing judicial proceedings in a foreign country.

The alleged misconduct occurred after Terry left the U.S. government and began working at think tanks, where she became a notable public policy expert on foreign affairs.

Lee Wolosky, Terry’s lawyer, claimed in a statement that 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.” He noted that Terry had not held a security clearance for over a decade and that her views remained consistent.

“In fact, she was a harsh critic of the South Korean government during the periods mentioned in the indictment,” Wolosky said. “Once the facts are clear, it will be evident that the government has made a significant mistake.”

Terry served in the government from 2001 to 2011, initially as a CIA analyst and later as the deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council, before transitioning to roles at think tanks, including the Council on Foreign Relations.

Former CIA Official Accused of Acting as Secret Agent for South Korean Intelligence

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Prosecutors also contend that Terry never registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent. On disclosure forms submitted to the House of Representatives, where she testified at least three times between 2016 and 2022, she stated she was not an “active registrant” but failed to disclose her covert work with South Korea, thereby preventing Congress from fairly evaluating her testimony in light of her alleged long-term efforts for the South Korean government.

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