US Justice Department Halts Prosecution of Former CIA Analyst Sue Mi Terry

The U.S. Justice Department has agreed not to prosecute former CIA analyst Sue Mi Terry, who was accused in 2024 of serving as a secret agent for South Korea’s intelligence service, according to court documents filed on October 14, 2026. Federal prosecutors stated that 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 has put her prosecution on hold for a year, with plans to drop the charges if she remains out of legal trouble. This decision comes weeks before Terry was scheduled to stand trial in a Manhattan federal court on charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Prosecutors did not provide a reason for their decision, stating only that deferring prosecution would serve the interests of both Terry and the U.S. Terry has maintained her innocence. Her attorney, Lee Wolosky, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, asserting that Terry had served her country loyally for many years. Wolosky stated, "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." As part of the agreement, Terry acknowledged certain facts of the case, including sharing notes with a South Korean intelligence officer from an off-the-record meeting with then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2022. The document also noted that she accepted designer handbags and coats from South Korea’s intelligence service, valued at approximately $9,245, for her work.