US halts prosecution of former CIA analyst accused of aiding South Korean intelligence

NEW YORK -- The U.S. 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, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors said Sue Mi Terry had 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 agreed Tuesday to put her prosecution on hold for a year, and then drop the charges altogether if Terry stays out of legal trouble. The deal comes weeks before Terry was set to stand trial in a Manhattan federal court on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent.

Prosecutors did not explain in court documents why they decided not to move forward with her case, saying only that they determined 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 immediately respond to a request for comment.

Terry had maintained her innocence. Her attorney, Lee Wolosky, said Tuesday that Terry had “served her country loyally for many years” and was pleased with this result.

“We have consistently maintained that her interactions with South Korean officials were conducted in furtherance of U.S. interests and her work as a leading American specialist on North Korea and East Asia,” Wolosky said in a statement.

As part of her deal, Terry signed a document agreeing to certain facts of the case, including that she had shared notes with a South Korean intelligence officer from an off-the-record meeting she attended with then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2022.

The document also said she accepted designer handbags and coats from South Korea’s intelligence service for her work, which were collectively valued at about $9,245.