The U.S. Department of Justice revealed today that Sue Mi Terry, 54, of New York City provided South Korean Intelligence Officers access, information and advocacy in exchange for luxury goods and funding. Terry was arrested yesterday and presented on criminal charges related to alleged offenses under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Terry is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate FARA and one count of failure to register under FARA. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents, after leaving U.S. government service and for more than a decade, Terry allegedly 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 exchange 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. Terry’s ROK National Intelligence Service (NIS) handlers gave her a $2,950 Bottega Veneta handbag and a $3450 Louis Vuitton handbag, both of which Terry selected during shopping trips with her handlers. One of Terry’s ROK NIS handlers also gave her a $2845 Dolce & Gabbana coat. In addition to luxury goods, Terry’s ROK NIS handlers provided her 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 dictated by the ROK government.
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.
Iin a voluntary interview with the FBI in 2023, Terry “admitted” she served as a valuable “source” of information for the ROK National Intelligence Service (ROK NIS), the primary intelligence agency for the ROK. For example, in or about June 2022, Terry participated in a private, off-the-record group meeting with a U.S. Secretary level official 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 with ROK Embassy diplomatic plates. While in the car, Terry passed her handler detailed handwritten notes of her meeting, which were written on the letterhead of a think tank where Terry had recently worked. Terry’s handler then photographed the notes while still 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 ostensibly on behalf 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.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York and Executive Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement. The FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and New York Field Office are investigating the case with assistance from the FBI Washington Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle A. Wirshba, Alexander Li and Sam Adelsberg for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Christopher M. Rigali of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
New York Woman Arrested as South Korean Foreign Agent
The U.S. Department of Justice revealed today that Sue Mi Terry, 54, of New York City provided South Korean Intelligence Officers access, information and advocacy in exchange for luxury goods and funding. Terry was arrested yesterday and presented on criminal charges related to alleged offenses under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Terry is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate FARA and one count of failure to register under FARA. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to court documents, after leaving U.S. government service and for more than a decade, Terry allegedly 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 exchange 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. Terry’s ROK National Intelligence Service (NIS) handlers gave her a $2,950 Bottega Veneta handbag and a $3450 Louis Vuitton handbag, both of which Terry selected during shopping trips with her handlers. One of Terry’s ROK NIS handlers also gave her a $2845 Dolce & Gabbana coat. In addition to luxury goods, Terry’s ROK NIS handlers provided her 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 dictated by the ROK government.
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.
Iin a voluntary interview with the FBI in 2023, Terry “admitted” she served as a valuable “source” of information for the ROK National Intelligence Service (ROK NIS), the primary intelligence agency for the ROK. For example, in or about June 2022, Terry participated in a private, off-the-record group meeting with a U.S. Secretary level official 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 with ROK Embassy diplomatic plates. While in the car, Terry passed her handler detailed handwritten notes of her meeting, which were written on the letterhead of a think tank where Terry had recently worked. Terry’s handler then photographed the notes while still 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 ostensibly on behalf 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.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York and Executive Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement. The FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and New York Field Office are investigating the case with assistance from the FBI Washington Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle A. Wirshba, Alexander Li and Sam Adelsberg for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Christopher M. Rigali of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.