Ex-CIA Analyst Sue Mee Terry is Accused of Spying for South Korea in Exchange for Luxury Handbags, Coats and Restaurants
Former CIA analyst Sue Mee Terry, who also previously served on the White House National Security Council, has been charged with working as a covert agent for South Korea's intelligence service by failing to register as a foreign agent with the US Department of Justice, according to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.
South Korean intelligence officers allegedly gave her Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton handbags, Dolce & Gabbana coats, and paid for her dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants. Prosecutors say they also provided more than $37,000 in ‘secret’ funding for a public policy programme on Korean affairs that she managed. Terry allegedly worked as an agent for ten years from 2013, two years after she left her job with the US government.
Terry, who is now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, worked for the US government from 2001 to 2011, first as a CIA analyst and then as the deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council.
According to the indictment, she advocated South Korea's political positions in her media appearances and shared non-public information with intelligence officials, as well as facilitated meetings between US and South Korean government officials.
She also admitted to the FBI that she served as a source of information for South Korean intelligence, passing on handwritten notes from an unreported meeting in June 2022, which was attended by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Terry Lee Wolosky's lawyer said in a statement that ‘the allegations are unfounded and misrepresent the work of a scholar and analyst known for his independence and years of service to the United States’.
‘When the facts are clarified, it will become apparent that the government has made a significant mistake,’ he said, adding that she has not had a security clearance for more than a decade, adding, ’In fact, she was sharply critical of the South Korean government at the time this indictment claims she was acting on its behalf’.