Michael Spavor

Michael Spavor, born in 1976, is a Canadian entrepreneur and consultant renowned for his extensive work in North Korea. As the director and founding member of Paektu Cultural Exchange, he has played a pivotal role in facilitating sports, cultural, tourism, and business exchanges involving the enigmatic nation.

In December 2018, while residing in Dandong, China, near the China–North Korea border, Spavor was taken into custody alongside fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig. Their arrests were widely perceived as a retaliatory measure following Canada's apprehension of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

On August 10, 2021, Spavor was sentenced to eleven years in prison on charges of espionage. However, on September 24, 2021, he was released after the U.S. Department of Justice reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Meng Wanzhou, leading to the dropping of her extradition request. Initially, Canadian officials deemed the espionage allegations as unfounded.

In a surprising turn of events in 2023, Spavor claimed that he may have been unwittingly used by Kovrig for espionage activities, suggesting that Kovrig had relayed information regarding North Korea from him to Canadian intelligence agencies. In 2024, Spavor received a settlement of seven million dollars from the Canadian government in recognition of his wrongful detention in China.