Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA agent and senior fellow at American think tank Council on Foreign Relations, has worked for the South Korean government since June 2013 after leaving the intelligence agency, according to a 31-page indictment released by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
She allegedly received luxury handbags and other gifts from South Korean intelligence officials over the past 10 years in return for sharing non-disclosure U.S. government information with them and arranging contacts for them with U.S. officials.
The New York Times quoted the indictment as saying, "'Despite engaging in extensive activities for and at the direction of' the South Korean government, she did not register as a foreign agent with American officials, as required by law..... She faces two counts, one for failing to register under the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act and the other for conspiring to violate it."
Terry worked for the CIA from 2001 to 2008, mainly dealing with security issues in East Asia. She also served as a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and worked for the National Security Council.
Terry said the allegations were "unfounded and distorted," denying the charges through her lawyer in a statement.
The Seoul-born U.S. citizen who spent her adolescence in Hawaii and Virginia earned a bachelor's degree in political science at New York University and a Master's degree and Ph.D. in international relations at Tufts University.
This is not the first such case. Robert Chaegon Kim, a former U.S. Navy analyst, was arrested in 1996 for passing classified information to the South Korean government. He was indicted for espionage and sentenced to 9 years in prison and three years on probation.
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