A Russiagate Conspiracy Theorist’s Connection to South Korean Intelligence

Max Boot has sculpted a career accusing his opponents of being paid by foreign governments. An unsealed indictment traces his wife Sue Mi Terry’s decade-old covert relationship with Seoul.

One of the pillars of Max Boot’s messaging toolkit is his preoccupation with espionage. It is a theme the Washington Post columnist revisits often, frequently using his writing and media appearances to push the idea that anyone in a position of power that questions the West’s endless militarism must be a secret agent being financed by a foreign power.

This cartoonishly simplistic modus operandi isn’t rooted in genuine suspicion or distrust. For shameless narrative managers like Boot, it is quite simply a one-size-fits-all weapon for combatting dissent from mainstream orthodoxy.

Because no social or professional consequences are ever levied for making the kind of baseless allegations Boot routinely relies on, he makes them constantly. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) senior fellow has accused those who have questioned the Pentagon’s provocations in the South China Sea of being on Beijing’s payroll. As far as Boot is concerned, many concerned about the US government’s weapons pipeline to Kyiv are almost certainly working for the Kremlin.

These assertions aren’t backed with evidence, but of course, that is not to say that there are no individuals working in the US at the behest of foreign governments.

One of these individuals, as it turns out, is married to Max Boot.

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In a 31-page indictment unsealed on July 16, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York has constructed a vivid picture of how Sue Mi Terry, a former intelligence official, spent years planting South Korean talking points into American newspapers in exchange for cash and gifts from Seoul’s government.  

Terry’s resume includes time as an analyst on East Asian issues for the CIA, as well as stints with the White House National Security Council and the National Intelligence Council.

According to the documents made public by federal prosecutors, Terry had been operating as a foreign agent since 2013. She faces one count for failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and another for conspiring to violate this federally mandated disclosure.

As the indictment spells out in great detail, Terry was guided by three different handlers during the time she spent working with South Korea’s government. The assistance she provided took the form of penning opinion pieces that conveyed South Korea’s preferred policies, hosting think tank events that covertly granted South Korean intelligence officers access to American officials, and arranging meetings between members of the incoming Trump administration and South Korean intelligence officials in 2016.

Among the numerous episodes chronicled in the indictment is a June 2014 arrangement in which the South Korean government paid Terry to write an article for Foreign Affairs entitled "A Korea Whole and Free: Why Unifying the Peninsula Won't Be So Bad After All." Foreign Affairs is published by the CFR, the hawkish think tank that also employs Boot.  

This undisclosed effort to inject the South Korea government’s desired policy positions into the American media survived for many years.

On page 19 of the indictment, prosecutors describe a January 2023 dinner in which Terry met with one of her handlers at an upscale sushi restaurant in Washington, DC. During the meal, it is alleged that Terry was provided with talking points on North Korean policy that she would go on to parrot in three separate articles.

The indictment further specifies that in early March 2023, Terry texted one of her handlers "So for me to write an oped, I need the following information," and then sent a list of questions about Japanese-South Korean relations.

According to the indictment, Terry received detailed responses to these questions on March 7. Later that afternoon, the Washington Post published an op-ed co-authored by Terry and her foreign-spy-hating husband, Max.

As the documents made public by prosecutors indicate, the content of the piece – titled “South Korea takes a brave step toward reconciliation with Japan” – was “broadly consistent” with the notes provided by Terry’s Seoul contact.

The indictment goes on to cite several other instances in which Terry was provided with explicit instructions regarding what to write and how to write it.

The document lists several other undisclosed actions taken by Terry at the direction of the South Korean government.

One of these actions took place in December 2016, when Terry worked to provide the South Korean government with access to someone widely reported to be a senior national security official for the incoming Trump administration.

In June 2022, Terry participated in an off-the-record meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, senior State Department staff members, and four other Korean policy experts. Immediately after the meeting concluded, the indictment states that one of Terry’s handlers picked her up in a car with diplomatic plates registered to the South Korean embassy. Once inside, the handler photographed two pages of handwritten notes that Terry had taken during the meeting.

Just a few weeks later, Terry organized a happy hour for Congressional staff members that her handler attended while posing as a diplomat, without disclosing to anyone that he was an intelligence officer with the South Korean government. Other South Korean intelligence officials were also present at this event.

“This event allowed ROK [Republic of Korea] officials to identify, evaluate, and potentially recruit Congressional staff whom they otherwise would not have been able to access, which is known in intelligence operations as the practice of "spot and assess," the indictment states.

Terry would later tell FBI officials that enabling this type of access for her South Korean contacts was like "bringing the wolf in."

Terry was rewarded for these services with a steady stream of cash for her think tank, meals at high-end restaurants, and luxury goods. According to the indictment, among the items Terry was gifted by her handlers over the years included a $2,845 Dolce & Gabbana coat, a $2,950 Bottega Veneta handbag, and a $3,450 Louis Vuitton handbag.

The indictment notes that the FBI had suspected that something could be amiss about Terry’s connection to Seoul as early as November 2014 and conducted a voluntary interview with her at that time. During another interview with the Bureau in June 2023, Terry admitted to officials that she’d resigned from the CIA in 2008 in lieu of termination because the CIA had “problems” with her contact with the South Korean government.

In a statement, Terry’s lawyer proclaimed her innocence and noted that the charges distorted “the work of a scholar and news analyst known for her independence and years of service to the United States.”

“Dr. Terry has not held a security clearance for over a decade, and her views on matters relating to the Korean Peninsula have been consistent over many years,” the statement said. “In fact, she was a harsh critic of the South Korean government during times this indictment alleges that she was acting on its behalf… Once the facts are made clear, it will be evident the government made a significant mistake.”

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In the post-Trump era, Max Boot has used his massively influential platform countless times to peddle any and every conspiracy that Washington needed to advance US foreign policy and to try to seal the deal for Democrats at the ballot box.

As we now know, the ceaseless flood of rumors and unsubstantiated claims Boot regularly fed his audience wasn’t just propaganda for the national security establishment; given that his wife now stands accused of engaging in precisely the type of activity that her husband has spent years pretending to report on, it was also projection.  

While it is important to remember that Terry has not been convicted of these charges, the indictment documents released by the Southern District of New York paint a detailed trail of evidence that will be difficult to disprove.  

Furthermore, while it is generally in poor taste to condemn anyone for their spouse’s actions and/or alleged crimes, it would appear that at least some of this activity directly involves Boot. According to the indictment, Boot and Terry co-wrote a number of articles – including the March 7 piece mentioned above – that were covertly scripted and financed by the South Korean government.

This page has written extensively about the role corporate and government donations play in shaping the news most Americans consume. This type of influence – while very real and deeply problematic – is difficult to prove. On the other hand, the kind of influence described in the indictment is a different story.  

The Washington Post has added the following editor’s note to the March 7 article co-written by Terry and Boot. The same text has been affixed to all of the other pieces written by Terry.

However, as of this writing, the paper hasn’t bothered to comment on the matter, and neither has Boot. Boot continues to be employed by the Post and is still writing about US foreign policy.

This indictment is in part newsworthy because it illuminates the staggering hypocrisy of one of the most hawkish and dishonest frauds in corporate media. However, what is much more important about this case is that it serves as a reminder that a significant portion of the news produced in the West is intended to engineer an establishment-friendly narrative, not to educate or inform.