A former CIA officer and North Korea expert facing charges for allegedly representing the South Korean government without proper disclosure has strongly refuted the prosecution’s claims.
She argues that she is not subject to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and that she was subjected to coercive interrogation during the investigation, urging the court to dismiss the case.
According to Voice of America (VOA) on February 26, Sue Mi Terry, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and former CIA analyst and National Security Council (NSC) adviser, submitted a formal rebuttal to the charges brought against her by federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors Allege Undeclared Representation of South Korea
The document, made public through the U.S. federal court’s electronic records system (PACER), spans approximately 70 pages and details the defense’s arguments against the indictment.
In July 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York indicted Terry for failing to register as a foreign agent while allegedly acting on behalf of the South Korean government. According to the indictment, she relayed confidential information to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) and facilitated connections with key U.S. officials, without fulfilling the disclosure requirements mandated under FARA.
However, Terry’s legal team contends that she did not influence U.S. policy or act as an official representative of a foreign government, arguing that FARA does not apply in this case.
Defense Asserts No FARA Violation
The defense maintains that Terry’s actions were voluntary and part of personal networking rather than direct instructions from the South Korean government.
They emphasize that FARA is intended to curb “malicious foreign influence,” which does not apply to Terry’s activities, as they involved an allied government rather than an adversarial entity.
As a result, her attorneys have called for the case to be dismissed, arguing that the charges fail to meet the legal criteria for prosecution under FARA.
Terry’s legal team has also challenged the specificity of the allegations, requesting that the court order prosecutors to provide more detailed charges.
Allegations of Coercive FBI Interrogation
Additionally, she has accused the FBI of coercive interrogation tactics, claiming that agents visited her home in June 2023 and questioned her without reading her Miranda rights, according to VOA. She has formally requested that statements made during that interrogation be excluded from the trial.
It remains to be seen to what extent the court will accept Terry’s defense team’s requests. The U.S. prosecutors are also expected to submit a document to the court soon, countering Terry’s arguments.
Terry was indicted on charges for allegedly working as an agent for the South Korean government in exchange for luxury goods and other gifts on July 16, 2024.
“Terry allegedly sold out her positions and influence to the South Korean government in return for luxury handbags, expensive meals, and thousands of dollars of funding for her public policy program,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a press release.
“The charges brought should send a clear message to those in public policy who may be tempted to sell their expertise to a foreign government to think twice and ensure you are in accordance with the law.”
She was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Virginia. She was a senior CIA analyst from 2001 to 2008, and director of Korean, Japan, and Oceanic Affairs at the NSC from 2008 to 2009.
In 2017 she became a senior fellow for the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In 2021, she became director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy at the Wilson Center, succeeding Jean H. Lee.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
