Montréal, a trusted partner in Canada for South Korean companies

Left to right: Dongeun Kim, Hanwha; Kevin Jo, Investissement Québec; François Laplante, MI; Spike Min, Hanwha; Halin Han, Hanwha Ocean; Damien Pereira, Délégation du Québec à Séoul; Stéphane Paquet, MI; Seoyoung Chung, Hanwha; Soraya Martinez Ferrada, City of Montréal; Isabelle Dessureault, CCMM; Giyeop Yi, Hanwha; Alex Corbeil, City of Montréal; Minwoo Jung, Hanwha; Junghyun Choi, Hanwha

Located in the province of Québec and within a one-hour flight of New York and Boston, Montréal ranks among North America’s leading economic hubs. The city has become a reliable destination for companies looking to establish or expand their global operations.

Canada and South Korea maintain a strong and diversified trade relationship and share a vision for innovation and economic cooperation. In a geopolitical context marked by uncertainty, these commonalities have turned into a key asset.

“Greater Montréal offers innovative and collaborative ecosystems, and a highly skilled, multilingual and creative talent pool,” says Stéphane Paquet. “We share several strategic industries, including artificial intelligence, aerospace and defence, life sciences, clean technologies and video games, paving the way for long-term partnerships and mutual growth.”

Since the Canada–Korea Free Trade Agreement came into effect in 2015, bilateral trade has continued to grow, providing a stable and predictable framework for South Korean companies operating in Canada.

Access to 60% of global GDP

Canada currently has 15 free trade agreements in force with 51 countries, including the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). It is also the only country to have free trade agreements with all G7 nations, offering privileged access to some of the world’s most important markets.

As a result of this extensive free trade network, companies established in Montréal have access to more than 60% of global GDP. Its geographic proximity to the United States combined with high-performing logistics infrastructure make it an ideal location to develop North American and international markets.

The metropolitan area can rely on:

• Two international airports offering direct flights to more than 150 destinations, including over 80 international routes
• The Port of Montréal, one of the largest in North America, connected to more than 100 countries

Left to right : Seungchan Yang, Star’s tech, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, City of Montréal; Stéphane Paquet, MI

AI-driven leading-edge industries

Montréal stands out for the maturity and depth of its sectoral ecosystems, supported by strategic public policies and a network of world-class research institutions.

In this context, several South Korean companies, including Samsung (artificial intelligence), Bero AI (artificial intelligence), Pantos Logistics (logistics), Krafton and Netmarble (video games), have chosen to invest in Greater Montréal in recent years. Their presence highlights the city’s lasting appeal in fast-growing technology sectors.

Furthermore, as one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence hubs, Montréal is home to a top-tier research and innovation ecosystem, driven by flagship organizations such as Mila, IVADO and Scale AI. These players play a key role in the development, deployment and commercialization of AI solutions on a global scale.

Founded by Yoshua Bengio, Mila is now the world’s largest university-based AI research centre and a global reference in responsible and trustworthy AI. Samsung opened a lab there and has been collaborating with Montréal-based researchers since 2014. Mila also works with the Seoul AI Hub to connect Korean startups with Canadian researchers. Another example of the growing ties between South Korea and Montréal’s AI ecosystem is BeroAI, a company that chose Montréal for its R&D lab dedicated to animal behaviour understanding.

One of the cleanest energy networks in North America

With more than 99% of its electricity generated from clean and renewable sources, Québec offers an environment particularly well suited to the development and deployment of clean technologies.

As a result, Greater Montréal is now home to more than 400 clean technology companies, with expertise spanning agtech, green chemistry, sustainable transportation and industrial decarbonization.

South Korean company Star’s Tech, for instance, is transforming starfish residues into eco-friendly road de-icing solutions. Pilot projects are currently underway in several Greater Montréal municipalities.

Left to right (first row) : Stéphane Paquet, MI; Rafi Balta, Hanwha; (second row) Francois Laplante, MI; Hongil Kim, MI; Alexandre Lagarde, MI; Seoyoung Chung, Hanwha; Daniel LeVine, Hanwha; Giyeop Yi, Hanwha

A new South Korean defence investment in Canada?

In the defence and maritime technologies sector, Hanwha Ocean, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Hanwha Group, is also seeking to expand its presence in Canada. The company is competing for a contract to supply new Canadian Patrol Submarines (CPSP), based on its KSS‑III submarine platform. Such a project would most certainly lead to further investments in Greater Montréal.

Montréal International is among a handful of local companies and organizations that have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hanwha Group to explore collaboration and investment opportunities within Greater Montréal’s industrial, technology and research ecosystems.

Partnership opportunities in Greater Montréal

South Korean companies interested in exploring opportunities within Montréal’s ecosystem are invited to contact our experts: François Laplante and Yun Li.