Justice Department agrees not to prosecute former CIA analyst
The Justice Department has agreed not to prosecute a former CIA analyst who in 2024 was accused of serving as a secret agent for South Korea’s intelligence service, reports BritPanorama.
Federal prosecutors stated that Sue Mi Terry shared nonpublic government information, facilitated access for South Korean officials to U.S. officials, and accepted luxury gifts in exchange for advocating South Korean government positions during media appearances.
The Justice Department decided to put her prosecution on hold for a year, agreeing to drop the charges altogether if Terry remains out of legal trouble. This development comes just weeks before she was scheduled to stand trial in a Manhattan federal court on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
Prosecutors did not provide a detailed explanation in court documents for this decision, only noting that the interests of both Terry and the U.S. “will be best served by deferring prosecution.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York did not respond to a request for comment.
Terry has consistently maintained her innocence. Her attorney, Lee Wolosky, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that Terry had “served her country loyally for many years.”
Wolosky emphasized that her interactions with South Korean officials were conducted in furtherance of U.S. interests and highlighted her status as a leading American specialist on North Korea and East Asia.
As part of her agreement, Terry acknowledged certain facts of the case, including sharing notes with a South Korean intelligence officer from an off-the-record meeting with then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2022.
The accepted document also specified that she received designer handbags and coats from South Korea’s intelligence service for her work, valued collectively at approximately $9,245.
