Former CIA, White House Employee Charged with Spying for South Korea, Had Been Warned by FBI Once

Illustration. (Pixabay/peterbwiberg)

JAKARTA - A foreign policy specialist who once worked for the CIA and on the White House National Security Council (NSC) has been charged with allegedly working as an unregistered South Korean government agent in exchange for luxury goods and other gifts.

The indictment, unsealed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, said Sue Mi Terry advocated South Korean policy positions, disclosed non-public U.S. government information to South Korean intelligence officers, and facilitated access for South Korean government officials to their counterparts in the United States, Reuters reported July 17.

In return, South Korean intelligence officers allegedly gave Terry Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton handbags, Dolce & Gabbana coats, dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants, and more than $37,000 in "secret" funding for a public policy program on Korean affairs that she ran.

The indictment includes CCTV footage of Terry waiting for or carrying gift bags while officers paid at Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton stores in Washington in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

Terry’s alleged work as an agent began in 2013, two years after he left the U.S. government, and continued for a decade even after FBI agents warned him in 2014 that South Korean intelligence might try to offer to pay for events secretly.

Terry is currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, according to the think tank’s website, and an expert on East Asia and the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea.

Terry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but his attorney, Lee Wolosky, said in a statement: “These allegations are baseless and distort the work of an academic and news analyst known for his independence and years of service to the United States.” "In fact, he was a vocal critic of the South Korean government during the time of this indictment alleging that he acted on behalf of the government. Once the facts are clear, it will be clear that the government has made a grave mistake," he added.

The Council on Foreign Relations has placed Terry on unpaid administrative leave, and will cooperate with any investigation, a spokesman said.

The South Korean embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The office of US Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan did not immediately respond to a similar request.

"South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are in close communication regarding the indictment related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act," South Korea's National Intelligence Service said, according to CNN.

The indictment also alleges that Terry published several opinion pieces at the request of Seoul officials, including in April 2023 when he received $500 to write an article praising the results of a summit between President Joe Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol for a South Korean newspaper.

The indictment also accuses Terry of failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and of conspiring to violate the law.

It says he admitted in an interview with the FBI in June 2023 that he was a “source” for South Korea’s intelligence agency, “meaning that he provided valuable information.”

Born in Seoul and raised in Virginia, Terry was a senior CIA analyst from 2001 to 2008. He then served as director of Korean, Japanese and Naval Affairs at the NSC from 2008 to 2009 under Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic President Barack Obama. He now lives in New York, according to his biography.