Michael Spavor
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Michael Peter Todd Spavor (born 1976) is a Canadian consultant who has worked extensively in
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
. He is the director and founding member of Paektu Cultural Exchange, an NGO that facilitates sports, cultural,
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
and business exchanges involving North Korea. In December 2018, while he was living and working in
Dandong Dandong ( zh, s=丹东 , t=丹東 , p=Dāndōng; lit. "Red East"), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest ...
on the Chinese side of the
China–North Korea border The China–North Korea border is an Border, international border separating China and North Korea, extending from Korea Bay in the west to a China–North Korea–Russia tripoint, tripoint with Russia in the east. The total length of the borde ...
, Spavor was taken into custody, along with Michael Kovrig, by Chinese officials. The arrest was widely interpreted as retaliation for Canada's arrest of
Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...
executive
Meng Wanzhou Meng Wanzhou ( zh, c=孟晚舟; born 13 February 1972), also known as Cathy Meng and Sabrina Meng, also informally known in China as the "Princess of Huawei", is a Chinese business executive. She is the deputy chair of the board and chief fin ...
. On August 10, 2021, Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison for espionage. On September 24, 2021, Spavor was released after the dropping of
Meng Wanzhou Meng Wanzhou ( zh, c=孟晚舟; born 13 February 1972), also known as Cathy Meng and Sabrina Meng, also informally known in China as the "Princess of Huawei", is a Chinese business executive. She is the deputy chair of the board and chief fin ...
's extradition request as part of her deferred prosecution agreement with the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
. Canadian officials initially claimed the espionage charges were "unfounded". However, in 2023, Spavor alleged that he may have unwittingly been used by Michael Kovrig for espionage, saying Kovrig had passed on information relating to North Korea from Spavor to Canadian intelligence agencies. In 2024, Spavor received 7 million dollars from the Canadian government in a settlement over his detention in China.


History

Michael Spavor was born in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario. He has a degree from the
University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...
in
international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
, focusing on the
Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...
and
East Asian Studies East Asian studies is a distinct multidisciplinary field of scholarly enquiry and education that promotes a broad humanistic understanding of East Asia past and present. The field includes the study of the region's culture, written language, histo ...
, and has studied International Trade and Political Science at
Kangwon National University Kangwon National University (KNU, ) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities in Gangwon, South Korea. History Initially established as an agricultural college, Kangwon National University has steadily expanded to the comprehensive ...
in South Korea. Spavor is fluent in
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...
, including the
North Korean dialect North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
, and French. Spavor's ties with
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
go back to at least 2001, when he first visited the country. In 2005, he became the managing director of a
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
-based NGO and spent six months working as a teacher at an affiliated school in
Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
. In the same year, he met American defector
James Joseph Dresnok James Joseph Dresnok (, November 24, 1941 – November 2016) was an American defector to North Korea, one of seven U.S. soldiers to defect after the Korean War. After defecting, Dresnok worked as an actor in propaganda films, some directed by ...
in Pyongyang. Spavor is friends with Kenji Fujimoto,
Kim Jong-il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from the death of his father Kim Il Sung in 1994 until his death in 2011, when he was ...
's Japanese former sushi chef, whom he first met in Japan in early 2016 and again in April 2016. In South Korea, Spavor attended
Kangwon National University Kangwon National University (KNU, ) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities in Gangwon, South Korea. History Initially established as an agricultural college, Kangwon National University has steadily expanded to the comprehensive ...
and worked for the
Korea Tourism Organization The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO; ) is an organization of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It is commissioned to promote the country's tourism industry. The KTO was established in 1962 ...
and
Seoul Tourism Organization The Seoul Tourism Organization (STO; ) is a public interest corporation established by local governments in Seoul, South Korea. It's also called a Seoul Tourism Foundation. The organization was established on May 1, 2018. The purpose of the organi ...
. He also was a council member of the
Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch The Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch (RAS-KB; ) is a learned society based in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1900 as the world's first Korean studies organization, it was founded to provide a platform for scholarly research on the history, ...
from 2010 to 2013, giving lectures and leading cultural excursions. He gained attention for restoring and living in a
hanok A (; name in South Korea) or ''chosŏnjip'' (; name in North Korea and for Koreans in Yanbian, China), is a traditional Korean house. were first designed and built in the 14th century during the Joseon dynasty. Korean architecture conside ...
in Bugahyeon-dong in western Seoul, and appeared in a music video for the K-pop group
SES SES, S.E.S., Ses and similar variants can refere to: Business and economics * Socioeconomic status * Scottish Economic Society, a learned society in Scotland * SES, callsign of the TV station SES/RTS (Mount Gambier, South Australia) * SES, a ...
. From 2010 to 2013, Spavor worked for the Pyongyang Project, a Canadian non-profit that organized educational exchanges in North Koreans and provided scholarships for North Korean students overseas, and in 2015 he founded Paektu Cultural Exchange. Spavor has strong personal ties with North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...
. In September 2013, Spavor facilitated the second visit of
Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...
to North Korea and became one of the few Westerners to have met Kim while in the city of
Wonsan Wonsan (), previously known as Wonsanjin (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwon Province (North Korea), Kangwon Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...
. Spavor later organized Rodman's 2014 visit. Spavor has been involved in the financial development of Wonsan, which is a high priority for Kim Jong-un, who has invested at least $150 million into the city. In November 2023, it was reported that Spavor decided to sue the federal government for entangling him in espionage activities without his knowledge, and he is seeking a multimillion dollar settlement. According to Spavor, he gave sensitive information to Michael Kovrig, who then secretly gave the information to the Canadian government and its
Five Eyes The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an Anglosphere intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are party to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperat ...
surveillance services without getting Spavor's permission. Spavor said that it was Kovrig's intelligence work that resulted in the arrest and detention of both Canadians.


Paektu Cultural Exchange

In January 2016, Spavor and Paektu Cultural Exchange sought a
European Order for Payment The European Payment Order (EPO) is a system of cross-border debt-collecting methods established on 11 December 2006, used in the European Union. Uses The European Payment Order is only available for cross-border cases. It allows for citizens an ...
against the betting company
Paddy Power Paddy Power is an Irish gambling company founded in 1988. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in Dublin, alongside a satellite office ...
for failing to fulfill their contractual obligations after they pulled sponsorship for a
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
event to be held in North Korea. In March 2016, Spavor organized the Pyongyang International Friendship Ice Hockey Exhibition (PIFIHE), bringing around 20 foreign hockey players to North Korea, including two Canadian residents of South Korea, for a series of games and other workshop events. In 2017, during a qualifying match between the North and South Korean women's
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
teams for the
2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...
, Spavor was assaulted by South Korean security officials as he tried to display the North Korean flag. Outside of sports exchanges, Spavor also played a role in the restoration of the Ryongwang Pavilion in Pyongyang, spending four years on the project alongside the
Prince Claus Fund The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996 and named after Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It is annually subsidized by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1997, the Fund has annually presented the international Prince Claus Award ...
and North Korea's National Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Spavor is often consulted by analysts and journalists for insights into North Korea. He has, however, been reluctant to comment on politics and
human rights in North Korea The human rights record of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea is often considered to be the worst in the world and has been globally condemned, with the United Nations and groups such as Human Rights Watch and Freedom House h ...
.


Detention in China

In December 2018, China detained Spavor and Michael Kovrig, another Canadian national, on charges of endangering state security. The arrests came shortly after Canada had arrested
Meng Wanzhou Meng Wanzhou ( zh, c=孟晚舟; born 13 February 1972), also known as Cathy Meng and Sabrina Meng, also informally known in China as the "Princess of Huawei", is a Chinese business executive. She is the deputy chair of the board and chief fin ...
, the chief financial officer of
Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...
, in what turned into an escalating diplomatic row between the two countries. Spavor and Kovrig were reportedly held in isolation without being allowed outdoors, kept under lighting and surveillance 24 hours a day, with 6 to 8 hours of interrogations per day. China allowed three consular visits as of February 1, 2019. During Spavor's detention, his friends noticed suspicious activity on his social media accounts, leading them to believe Chinese interrogators were accessing his accounts. In mid-December 2018, a
GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...
campaign was started to raise funds for Spavor to help with any legal and travel costs following his release, but three weeks later on January 7, 2019, the crowdfunding platform terminated the campaign. Though the campaign had raised before being terminated, GoFundMe gave less than $500 to the designated beneficiary (Spavor's brother). Though GoFundMe did not give an explanation, Spavor's friend speculated the reason might be Spavor's past promotion of
tourism in North Korea Tourism in North Korea is tightly controlled by the North Korean government. All tourism is organized by several state-owned tourism bureaus, including Korea International Travel Company (KITC), Korean International Sports Travel Company (KISTC), ...
, a country under US sanctions.
Andrei Lankov Andrei Nikolaevich Lankov (; born 26 July 1963) is a Russian scholar of Asia and specialist in Korean studies and Director of Korea Risk Group, the parent company of NK News and NK Pro. Early life and education Lankov was born on 26 July 1963 ...
, an expert on North Korea, expressed surprise over Spavor's arrest in this "hostage game", saying that Spavor "is from very humble origins nddefinitely not the son of a CEO of a major Canadian company". Friends describe Spavor as "only pursuing his love for Korea" and "not really interested in politics... more passionate about things on a smaller scale people-to-people interactions, and friendship among citizens of different countries, regardless of geopolitical climate or issues". In the lead-up to the first high-level diplomatic talks between Chinese officials and American officials working for
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, Spavor's trial date was announced. On March 19, 2021, a two-hour closed court hearing for Spavor ended with no immediate verdict and Dandong
Intermediate people's court An intermediate people's court () is the second-lowest local people's court in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, i ...
stating that it would set a date to release a decision later. Because the case involved Chinese national security law, the
chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...
at the Canadian Embassy in China was denied entry to provide
consular assistance Consular assistance is help and advice provided by the diplomatic agents of a country to citizens of that country who are living or traveling overseas. The diplomats may be honorary consuls, or members of the country's diplomatic service. Such ...
. Diplomats from the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Australia, Sweden and Germany also sought access but were denied. On August 10, 2021, a Chinese court sentenced Spavor to 11 years in prison and said that he would be deported, though it was unclear when. With
Meng Wanzhou Meng Wanzhou ( zh, c=孟晚舟; born 13 February 1972), also known as Cathy Meng and Sabrina Meng, also informally known in China as the "Princess of Huawei", is a Chinese business executive. She is the deputy chair of the board and chief fin ...
's case dropped, Spavor was released shortly after on September 24, 2021 and returned to Canada.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spavor, Michael 1976 births 2010s missing person cases Canadian consultants Canadian people imprisoned abroad Canadian people taken hostage Formerly missing Canadian people Living people Missing person cases in China People from Toronto Foreign nationals imprisoned in the People's Republic of China Foreign nationals imprisoned in China University of Calgary alumni