Los Angeles, CA – The First Lady of the Republic of Korea, Kim Yoon-ok, visited Shriners Hospitals for Children — Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 24. She and her husband, President Lee Myung-bak, were returning from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit recently completed in Lima, Peru.

First Lady Kim Yoon-ok was especially interested in the Los Angeles Shriners Hospital since approximately 3 percent of hospital’s patients come from Korea. While Korea has an excellent medical system, the physicians at Shriners Hospitals specialize in treating orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate.
 
The First Lady was welcomed by Stuart Wright, chairman of the hospital’s Board of Governors and Terrence Cunningham, hospital administrator. “We are honored by the visit of the First Lady of Korea to Shriners Hospitals for Children in Los Angeles today,” Mr. Cunningham said. “We are very proud of our cooperative relationship with the Republic of Korea and look forward to being able to care for more of your children in need of our specialized care.”

After a brief visit with the staff of the hospital, the First Lady toured the facility and met with the Korean patients being cared for by the hospital. “I’m very glad that I could be here today and am very thankful for the treatment that Shriners Hospitals for Children provides to the children of Korea,” she said.

Her visit to the hospital was coordinated by the office of the Consul General of the Republic of Korea and the local Choong Chung Society of Southern California, a group that supports Korean children during their stay at the hospital.