Michael Hay was a British and French lawyer who was famous for his work as a lawyer in North Korea. He started the first and only foreign law firm in North Korea. From 1999 to 2001, readers of Asialaw Magazine voted him one of Asia's Leading Lawyers for three years in a row.
Early life
Hay was born in Stirling, the son of a Scottish father and a French mother. He earned a law degree with honors and a doctorate in comparative law from the Edinburgh Law School. He also completed a master's degree, specializing in antitrust law, from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago.
Because of his heritage, Hay had citizenship in both Britain and France. He knew several languages, including English, French, and Korean.
Career
Hay first worked as a lawyer in New York City for a private law firm. He moved to South Korea in 1990 and joined a well-known law firm in Seoul called Bae, Kim and Lee. His area of expertise was arbitration, which is a way to resolve disputes without going to court. Over 14 years, he focused on international business deals, solving disputes between countries, and, starting in 1997, studied and advised on North Korean laws and business practices.
In 1998, Hay traveled to North Korea as part of a group from the European Chamber of Commerce. At that time, North Korea was recovering from a severe famine and economic problems. Seeing business opportunities, Hay started a consulting business in Pyongyang in 2001, shortly after the 2000 meeting between North and South Korea. In 2004, he created a law firm and business consulting company called Hay, Kalb & Associates. This was the first and only foreign-owned law firm and business consulting company in North Korea. The firm operated from a hotel in Pyongyang, and Hay was the only foreigner working there. The name "Kalb" meant "Korea Advisors on Law and Business," while "associates" referred to government lawyers from North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Trade. The firm helped foreign companies, embassies, and aid groups with legal issues, including following rules for doing business in North Korea and solving disputes. Hay had planned to join one of the world’s top 20 law firms, but the firm stopped its plans due to fears of financial penalties.
While working in North Korea, Hay handled about 50 arbitration cases with 12 North Korean colleagues. He was known for successfully helping businesses and groups win legal disputes in North Korea’s complex legal system. Hay said North Korea had a strong arbitration system, even better than some developed countries, and that foreign companies had fair chances to resolve disputes. Arbitration cases could take as little as six months to finish. Hay believed North Korea’s legal system for solving disputes was designed to help foreign businesses invest in the country.
In August 2016, Hay, Kalb & Associates stopped working because financial penalties against North Korea made it hard for the firm to continue. Most of the firm’s clients were foreign investors who struggled with these penalties, which made the firm’s work unviable. At the time the firm stopped, it had spent thousands of hours helping North Korean groups and foreign clients negotiate business deals.
After working in North Korea for 12 years, Hay took a short break and returned to South Korea in late 2018. He joined a law firm in Seoul called Hwang Mok Pak as their expert on North Korean law. He left the firm in November 2019.
Death
Hay passed away in Seoul in February 2020 when he was 58 years old. He was not married and did not have any children. He is survived by six brothers and sisters.