Agreement aims to support health screenings for overseas Koreans visiting their homeland and explore preventive healthcare cooperation in Canada
KMI Korean Medical Institute announced Thursday that it has signed an MOU with the Federation of Korean-Canadian Associations (FKCA) to build a cooperative framework for promoting the health of overseas Koreans in Canada and advancing preventive healthcare.
The agreement was prompted by a visit to Korea by FKCA representatives, who traveled to attend the World Korean Business Convention and the World Korean Entrepreneurs Convention — two flagship events of the 2026 World Korean Week.
Under the MOU, KMI will help overseas Koreans in Canada access health screening services when they visit their homeland. The FKCA will promote KMI's health screening services and wellness programs to Korean communities across Canada through its regional Korean associations.
Building on this partnership, KMI plans to support the health management of overseas Koreans while also sharing South Korea's preventive healthcare model with Canadian government agencies and medical institutions, exploring possibilities for local collaboration.
On Sept. 7, a delegation from the Alberta provincial government visited KMI's Gwanghwamun Center to observe South Korea's one-stop health screening system. The delegation expressed interest in early disease detection through health screenings, management of high-risk groups, and post-screening follow-up care and referral systems. The two sides also discussed the potential for applying AI-based imaging analysis and other digital healthcare technologies to early cancer detection and preventive medicine in Canada.
"Disease prevention and health management for overseas Koreans is an area that requires sustained cooperation between Korean communities abroad and medical institutions at home," KMI Korean Medical Institute Chairman Lee Gwang-bae said. "We will continue working closely with the Federation of Korean-Canadian Associations to support the health and well-being of our compatriots."
Founded in 1985, KMI Korean Medical Institute operates health screening centers at eight locations nationwide — three in Seoul (Gwanghwamun, Yeouido and Gangnam) and five in regional cities (Suwon, Daegu, Busan, Gwangju and Jeju) — as well as a center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Gwanghwamun Center recently received accreditation under the Korea Association for Health Promotion's Foreign Patient Attraction Certification (KAHF), and all eight centers have been designated as outstanding medical tourism institutions by the Ministry of Justice.
kty@heraldcorp.com
