By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A foreign policy specialist who once worked for the CIA and on the White House National Security Council (NSC) has been indicted on U.S. charges she worked as an unregistered agent of South Korea's government in exchange for luxury goods and other gifts.
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 U.S. counterparts, according to an indictment made public on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.
In return, the South Korean intelligence officers allegedly provided Terry with Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton handbags, a Dolce & Gabbana coat, dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants, and more than $37,000 in "covert" funding for a public policy program on Korean affairs that she ran.
The indictment contains surveillance camera images of Terry awaiting or carrying a gift bag while the officers pay 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 she left U.S. government employment, and lasted a decade even after FBI agents warned her in 2014 that South Korean intelligence might try to offer (to) covertly pay for events.
She is now 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 her lawyer, Lee Wolosky, said in a statement: "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."
"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.
The Council on Foreign Relations put Terry on unpaid administrative leave, and will cooperate with any investigation, a spokeswoman said.
South Korea is not a defendant. Its Washington embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Seoul's National Intelligence Service said it was closely communicating with US intelligence authorities. The office of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan did not immediately respond to similar requests.
The indictment also alleges that Terry has published multiple opinion pieces at the request from Seoul officials, including in April 2023 when she received $500 for writing an article praising the results of a summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Yoon Suk Yeol for a South Korean newspaper.
According to Terry's online biography, she is a frequent guest on TV, radio and podcasts, and has testified multiple times before Congressional panels.
Born in Seoul and raised in Virginia, Terry was a senior CIA analyst from 2001 to 2008, and director of Korean, Japan and Oceanic Affairs at the NSC from 2008 to 2009 under Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic President Barack Obama.
She now lives in New York, her biography says.
The indictment charges Terry with failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and conspiring to violate that law.
It says she acknowledged in a voluntary June 2023 FBI interview that she was a "source" for South Korea's intelligence service, "meaning that she provided valuable information."