CIA analyst gave information to South Korea in exchange for Louis Vuitton bags, prosecutors claim
A high-profile foreign policy analyst and former CIA officer has been charged with serving as a secret agent for South Korea’s intelligence service in exchange for luxury goods, including expensive handbags.
South Korean intelligence officers allegedly provided Sue Mi Terry with Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton handbags, a Dolce & Gabbana coat, dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants and more than $37,000 (£28,400) in “covert” funding for a public policy programme on Korean affairs that she ran.
According to an indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan, in exchange she advocated South Korean government positions in the media, shared non-public information with intelligence officers and facilitated access for South Korean officials to their US government counterparts.
Ms Terry, who also previously held a senior position at the US National Security Council, has denied the charges through her lawyer.
The court case details how her work as an agent allegedly began in 2013, two years after she left US government employment, and lasted a decade.
She has since worked at well-known think tanks, including most recently the Council on Foreign Relations, where she has become a prominent commentator on Korean Peninsula and East Asian affairs.
The charges are part of a growing effort by the Justice Department to counter foreign influence in American affairs, which has resulted in dozens of prosecutions in recent years.
Prosecutors have accused her of failing to register under the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act, and of conspiring to violate it.
The 31-page indictment outlines a series of accusations about how she worked behind the scenes to introduce South Korean spies to congressional staff members and hosted meetings to give South Korean agents access to US security officials.
It references an instance where she reportedly passed on handwritten notes to the South Koreans from an off-the-record meeting in June 2022 with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, about US government policy towards North Korea.
On Tuesday, Lee Wolosky, Ms Terry’s lawyer, issued a statement denying the charges against her.
“These 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 said.
“In fact, she was a harsh critic of the South Korean government during times this indictment alleges that she was acting on its behalf. Once the facts are made clear it will be evident the government made a significant mistake,” he added.
Ms Terry was born in Seoul, raised in Virginia and now lives in New York.
A spokesman for the Council on Foreign Relations said that she had been placed on unpaid administrative leave and that the think tank would cooperate with any investigation.
South Korea is not a defendant and its embassy in Washington has not commented on the case.