Presidential office to review Moon gov't's dealings with former CIA official accused of being South Korean agent

South Korea's presidential office said on Thursday it would review the preceding Moon Jae-in administration's alleged involvement with former CIA official Sue Mi Terry, who was indicted in the United States on charges of being a South Korean agent.

Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst and senior official at the U.S. National Security Council, who was indicted on charges of working as an unregistered agent for the South Korean government by U.S. authorities on Tuesday, speaks during a screening of a documentary on North Korean defectors at South Korea's Foreign Ministry last November. [YONHAP]

South Korea's presidential office said on Thursday it would review the preceding Moon Jae-in administration's alleged involvement with former CIA official Sue Mi Terry, who was recently indicted in the United States on charges of being a South Korean agent.

Terry, a North Korea expert and former senior official at the U.S. National Security Council who was born in South Korea and raised in the United States, allegedly advocated South Korean policy positions, disclosed nonpublic U.S. government information to South Korean intelligence officers and facilitated access for South Korean government officials to their U.S. counterparts, according to the indictment that was revealed Tuesday.

Most recently, Terry was a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. think tank.

She reportedly received luxury goods such as a Louis Vuitton handbag worth $3,450, a Dolce and Gabbana coat worth about $3,000, a Bottega Veneta handbag worth $2,950, expensive dinners at high-end restaurants and more than $37,000 in funding for a public policy program that Terry ran, from National Intelligence Service (NIS) handlers.

When asked whether there would be a government-wide investigation or a reprimand for the NIS agents involved in Terry's case, a senior official from the presidential office told reporters that "if there is an investigation or reprimand, it would be necessary to direct them toward figures in the Moon administration."

"Everything the NIS agents were photographed doing with Terry happened during the previous administration," the official said. "I think the story emerged because the Moon administration purged the NIS of agents capable of professional overseas activities and replaced them with amateurish people."

Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christie M. Curtis, acting assistant director in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) New York Field Office, arrested Terry in New York on Tuesday, according to a statement on Wednesday. However, Terry was released on $500,000 bail the same day of her arrest.

In the indictment unsealed Wednesday, U.S. authorities charged Terry with "offenses under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)."

Under FARA, anyone who represents or promotes the policies and interests of a foreign government, political party or company must report their activities to the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors believe Terry willfully failed to do so. When asked under oath during at least three congressional testimonies between 2016 and 2022 whether she was a "reportable person" under FARA, Terry responded in the negative.

"As alleged, Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA and White House employee, subverted foreign agent registration laws in order to provide South Korean intelligence officers with access, information and advocacy," Williams said in a statement following the indictment. "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. 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."

"Compromising national security endangers every American by weakening our defenses and putting lives at risk," said Curtis in the same statement. "Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA and White House official, was arrested for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent for South Korea. For over a decade, despite repeated warnings, Terry allegedly exploited her think tank roles to advance a foreign agenda.

"Her alleged actions posed a severe threat to national security," Curtis added. "This arrest sends a clear message: the FBI will pursue and arrest anyone who endangers our nation's security by collaborating with foreign spies."

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]