Ex-CIA analyst accused of spying for South Korea had prior warnings from FBI, CIA

A FORMER INTELLIGENCE ANALYST for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), who is married to a high-profile columnist for The Washington Post, remains under arrest for allegedly spying for South Korea. According to an indictment unsealed last Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, the former CIA analyst is Sue Mi Terry, 54, of New York. Terry is a naturalized American citizen born in Seoul, South Korea, who grew up in Virginia and received a PhD from Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Terry joined the CIA in 2001 but resigned in 2008, allegedly “in lieu of termination” because her employer “had ‘problems’ with her contact with” officers from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS). After leaving the CIA, Terry worked briefly for the National Security Council and the National Intelligence Council, before transitioning to academia. Her most recent post was that of a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she became known as an exert on East Asian affairs with a focus on the Korean Peninsula. For over a decade, Terry has made frequent appearances on television and radio, as well as on several podcasts. She is married to the Washington Post columnist Max Boot.

The Department of Justice accuses Terry of failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and deliberately conspiring to violate that law, thus effectively operating as an unregistered agent of a foreign power. The indictment claims that Terry was gradually recruited by the NIS, beginning in 2013, two years after she stopped working for the United States government. Terry allegedly continued to work for the NIS for a decade, during which she was handled by NIS intelligence officers posing as diplomats in South Korea’s Washington embassy and permanent mission to the United Nations in New York.

It is alleged that throughout that time Terry provided her NIS handlers with access to senior US officials, disclosed “nonpublic US government information” to the NIS, and promoted pro-South Korean policy positions in her writings and media appearances. In return, Terry is alleged to have received luxury goods, free dinners at expensive restaurants, and nearly $40,000 in “covert” funding, nominally to operate a public policy program on Korean affairs. It is worth noting that, according to the unsealed indictment, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Terry that she should be wary of being approached by NIS officers seeking to offer her funding.

Terry’s husband, Max Boot, has not been charged with any crime. It should also be noted that the US government has not publicly ordered the expulsion of any South Korean diplomatic personnel in Washington or New York, even though Terry’s alleged handlers were stationed there. It may be the case that the South Koreans voluntarily recalled some diplomatic staff back to Seoul, or that the expulsions were ‘silent’, as the term goes. Neither the US government nor the South Korean embassy have issued any statements on the matter.

Moreover, The Washington Post, which has previously hosted editorials by Terry and her husband, has said it is “reviewing the indictment”. The Council on Foreign Relations has reportedly placed Terry on administrative leave. Terry’s legal team have called the allegations against her “unfounded”, adding that they “distort the work of a scholar and news analyst known for her independence and years of service to the United States”. Terry faces over a dozen years in prison, if convicted.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 22 July 2024 | Permalink