Hay made his first trip to North Korea in 1998 as part of a delegation from the European Chamber of Commerce, when the country emerged from its notorious famine and near-economic collapse. [2] Shortly after the 2000 inter-Korean summit, Hay saw business opportunities in the country and established a consulting office in Pyongyang in 2001. In 2004, Hay founded Hay, Kalb & Associates, the first and so far only foreign-invested law firm and multidisciplinary management consulting firm in North Korea. The company operated out of a hotel in Pyongyang, with Hay being the only foreigner working for the company. „Kalb” stood for „Korea Advisors on Law and Business,” while „associates” referred to government prosecutors from the Ministry of Foreign Trade. [1] Hay, Kalb & Associates specializes in regulatory compliance, foreign investment and dispute resolution, and specializes in advising foreign companies with business interests in North Korea[3], particularly foreign companies (mainly from Europe and Southeast Asia) attempting to trade with North Korea, as well as Pyongyang-based embassies and humanitarian organizations. Hay had originally planned to work with one of the 20 largest law firms in the world, but when she stepped down for fear of sanctions, Hay decided to open her own firm.[1] [4] The legal market in Korea continues to be dominated by established local law firms Kim & Chang, Lee & Koh, Yoon & Yang LLC, Yulchon, Jipyong and Bae, Kim & Lee LLC. Foreign companies still have a foothold in the market, but in 2021, Clifford Chance closed its Seoul office, nine years after it was founded. Within the Corporate and M&A practice, Daniel Kim, who previously led the practice at Paul Hastings LLP, has joined O`Melveny & Myers.
Covid-19 was the most important restriction on the market. Korean SOEs must comply with regulations that set strict requirements for site visits before making capital investments in projects. As a result, the market slowed down as Covid-19 prevented businesses from visiting. The biggest changes in the Korean market over the past year have been in the area of regulation. In Korea, the government focused on the separation of powers between police and prosecutors in early 2021. Before that, there was the perception that prosecutors were becoming highly politicized (they were monitoring the police). From now on, the police will have more independence in the conduct of investigations and will devote more resources to them. This horizontal relationship means that prosecutors will have limited powers. This has resulted in a backlog of criminal investigations in Korea. There has also been a criminalization of rule violations (which is not new in Korea, as the law has always imposed criminal penalties). But global companies now need to be more aware of environmental issues and fair competition, as this can lead to a criminal conviction in Korea. In addition, Korea will introduce a law to punish serious accidents in 2022 – a new law that criminalizes victims of workplace accidents or product defects.
The law states that if the victim results in more than one certain death of a person, there are criminal penalties. This is for business management and companies have seen a lot of activity from client companies preparing for this vague and ambiguous law that states that if companies do not do something „right” they can be punished, but the law does not provide the exact meaning of „right”. We provide advice on UN, US, EU, Japan, Australia and other bilateral sanctions against North Korea, as well as South Korea`s actions on May 24, the Inter-Korean Trade and Cooperation Act and export controls. We propose an a priori analysis to avoid the risks of potential violations of economic sanctions and advise on measures to respond to alleged violations of these on an a posteriori basis. We currently do not have any law firms in North Korea that meet our minimum requirements. Come back later. Hay was born in Stirling to a Scottish father and a French mother. [1] He holds an LL.B. with honors and a PhD in Comparative Law from Edinburgh Law School and an LL.M. with a concentration in antitrust law from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in Chicago.
[1] We provide comprehensive solutions to issues arising from trade relations with North Korea in collaboration with Kim & Chang`s industry-specific practices such as the real estate, construction, energy/resources and finance sectors, as well as legal partners in the United States, China, Japan and Australia. Our ability to offer such comprehensive solutions gives Kim & Chang an unprecedented advantage. Hay first worked as a member of the New York Bar Association at a private law firm in New York. He arrived in South Korea in 1990 and joined the Seoul law firm of Bae, Kim and Lee with a specialization in arbitration. [1] In 14 years of practice, he has specialized in international commercial transactions, international dispute settlement and, since 1997, North Korean law and business practice. Hay passed away in Seoul in February 2020 at the age of 58. Unmarried and childless, he is survived by six siblings. [1] Kim & Chang`s North Korea investment and advisory practice consists of more than 30 experienced professionals, including lawyers, accountants, patent attorneys and former Korean and U.S. officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Since 2000, we have been advising on various issues and issues related to trade and investment in North Korea, North Korean laws, international sanctions and inter-Korean relations in North Korea. Our experts in inter-Korean relations and foreign policy provide innovative advice on inter-Korean relations, economic cooperation between the two Koreas, and negotiations between North Korea and the United States on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the progress of their bilateral relations. In addition, we provide specific strategies and outlook analysis to enter and invest in North Korea in an ever-changing global situation. The arbitration could be concluded in as little as six months. According to Hay, North Korea maintains an advanced dispute settlement system to facilitate foreign investment. After 12 years in North Korea and a short break, Hay returned to South Korea in late 2018 and joined Hwang Mok Pak, a law firm in Seoul, as an in-house expert on North Korea.[4] .