Sue Mi Terry/Image: Reuters
Terry, a former White House National Security Council official, was indicted in July 2024. The allegations relate to activities that prosecutors said began in 2013, two years after Terry left US government service, and continued for about a decade. One example involved notes she had prepared for a 2022 meeting between senior US State Department officials and experts on Korean policy.
The agreement comes weeks before the case was due to go to trial, according to The New York Times.
The four-page notice said prosecutors had determined that “the interests of the United States and your own interest will be best served by deferring prosecution”. He also said she had been a strong critic of the South Korean government. The US Justice Department has agreed to drop criminal charges against former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry, who was accused of secretly working for South Korea’s government in exchange for luxury goods and other gifts. It means Terry will not face an immediate criminal conviction or prison sentence. Prosecutors accused her of accepting gifts from South Korean officials in return for promoting Seoul’s policy positions, sharing information that was not publicly available and helping South Korean officials gain access to their American counterparts. The Justice Department did not explain why it had agreed to suspend the case. Under the deal, Terry must follow several conditions, including restrictions on her travel and contact with the South Korean government. She has not admitted to wrongdoing as part of the agreement, although she acknowledged helping South Korean intelligence officers in several ways. Under the agreement, she acknowledged sharing those notes with South Korean intelligence officers. Terry has denied the allegations.
Her lawyer, Lee Wolosky, previously argued that she was being prosecuted for work carried out as an independent academic and news analyst.