The U.S. federal prosecutors previously accused Sue Mi Terry of providing undisclosed U.S. government information to South Korea and accepting luxury gifts in exchange for promoting the South Korean government’s position.
According to court documents filed on Tuesday (October 13th), the U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to postpone the prosecution.
The federal prosecutor alleged that Sue M. Terry provided classified U.S. government information to South Korea, helped South Korean officials contact U.S. government officials, and accepted luxury gifts in exchange for promoting the position of the South Korean government during her media appearances.
The US Department of Justice agreed on Tuesday to postpone the criminal prosecution against Terry for one year. If Terry does not encounter further legal problems during this period, the Department of Justice will subsequently completely drop the charges against her.
This agreement was reached just weeks before Terry was scheduled to stand trial in the Federal Court of Manhattan. She was originally due to be tried for suspected acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
The prosecutor did not explain in the court documents why it was decided not to proceed with the case further. They only stated that they believed “postponing the prosecution is in the best interest of both Terry and the United States.”
The New York Southern District Federal Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to the request for comment.
Terry has always maintained her innocence. Her lawyer, Lee Wolosky, stated on Tuesday that Terry "has consistently dedicated years to serving her country faithfully," and was pleased with the outcome.
Volosky said in a statement: "We have always believed that her contacts with Korean officials were aimed at promoting the interests of the United States, and that it was part of her work as a well-known expert on North Korea and East Asian issues in the United States."
According to the agreement, Terry signed a document agreeing to acknowledge certain facts in the case.
Among them was a private meeting in 2022 with then-U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during which she handed a note taken during the meeting to a Korean intelligence officer.
The document also states that Tré received gifts such as name-brand handbags and coats from South Korean intelligence agencies due to his work-related activities, with a total value of approximately $9,245.
