Sue Mi Terry Provided South Korean Intelligence Officers Access, Information, and Advocacy in Return for Luxury Goods and Funding
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christie M. Curtis, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging SUE MI TERRY with offenses under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”). TERRY was arrested on July 16, 2024, in New York, New York, and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA and White House employee, subverted foreign agent registration laws in order to provide South Korean intelligence officers with access, information, and advocacy. Terry 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. 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.”
FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Christie M. Curtis said: “Compromising national security endangers every American by weakening our defenses and putting lives at risk. Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA and White House official, was arrested for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent for South Korea. For over a decade, despite repeated warnings, Terry allegedly exploited her think tank roles to advance a foreign agenda. As alleged, she disclosed sensitive U.S. government information to South Korean intelligence and used her position to influence U.S. policy in favor of South Korea… for money and luxury gifts. Her alleged actions posed a severe threat to national security. This arrest sends a clear message: the FBI will pursue and arrest anyone who endangers our nation’s security by collaborating with foreign spies.”
As alleged in the Indictment:[1]
After leaving U.S. government service and for more than a decade, TERRY worked as an agent of the government of the Republic of Korea (“ROK”), commonly known as South Korea, without registering as a foreign agent with the Attorney General, as required by law. As covertly directed by ROK government officials, TERRY publicly advocated ROK policy positions, disclosed non-public U.S. government information to ROK intelligence officers, and enabled ROK officials to gain access to U.S. government officials. In return for these actions, ROK intelligence officers provided TERRY with luxury goods, expensive dinners, and more than $37,000 in funding for a public policy program focusing on Korean affairs that TERRY controlled.
From in or about 2001 to in or about 2011, TERRY served in a series of positions in the U.S. government, including as an analyst on East Asian issues for the Central Intelligence Agency, as the Director for 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. Since leaving government service in or about 2011, TERRY has worked at academic institutions and think tanks in New York City and Washington, D.C. TERRY has made media appearances, published articles, and hosted conferences as a policy expert specializing in, among other things, South Korea, North Korea, and various regional issues impacting Asia. TERRY has also testified before Congress on at least three occasions regarding the U.S. government’s policy toward Korea.
Since leaving U.S. government service, TERRY served as a valuable source of information for the ROK National Intelligence Service (“ROK NIS”), the ROK’s primary intelligence agency. For example, in or about June 2022, TERRY participated in a private, off-the-record group meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State regarding the U.S. government’s policy toward North Korea. Immediately after the meeting, TERRY’s primary ROK NIS point of contact, or “handler,” picked up TERRY in a car bearing ROK Embassy diplomatic license plates. While in the car, TERRY provided her handler detailed handwritten notes of her meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State. TERRY’s handler photographed the notes while sitting in the car with TERRY.
Weeks later, at the request of her ROK NIS handler, TERRY hosted a happy hour for Congressional staff. Although the happy hour was under the auspices of the think tank where TERRY worked, the ROK NIS paid for it with TERRY’s knowledge. TERRY’s handler attended the event and posed as a diplomat, mingling with Congressional staff without disclosing that he was, in fact, an ROK intelligence officer.
The ROK government rewarded TERRY for her services. For example, TERRY’s ROK NIS handlers gifted her a $2,950 Bottega Veneta handbag and a $3,450 Louis Vuitton handbag, both of which TERRY selected during shopping trips with her handlers. One of TERRY’s ROK NIS handlers also gifted her a $2,845 Dolce & Gabbana coat.
In addition to luxury goods, TERRY’s ROK NIS handlers provided her with expensive meals, including at Michelin-starred restaurants. TERRY’s ROK NIS handlers also deposited approximately $37,000 into an unrestricted “gift” account that TERRY controlled at the think tank where she worked. In addition, ROK government officials paid TERRY to write articles in both the U.S. and Korean press conveying positions and phrases provided by the ROK government.
TERRY, 54, of New York, New York, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to violate FARA, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of failure to register under FARA, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI’s New York Field Office. Mr. Williams also thanked the Counterintelligence Division and Foreign Influence Task Force of FBI Headquarters, the Mission Services and Counterintelligence Divisions of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Amtrak Police Department, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division for their assistance.
This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Alexander Li, and Kyle A. Wirshba are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Christopher M. Rigali of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
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