South Korea's President Lee to visit France for summit, film discussion with Macron

South Korean President Lee ​Jae Myung will pay a state visit ​to France from September ‌6 to ​9 for a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and for a joint discussion on the film industry, Lee's office ‌said on Friday.

Lee and Macron will co-chair the one-day Lumiere Summit, scheduled for September 7 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the presidential office said. About 150 politicians, policy makers and film industry figures have been invited ‌to the summit, the first international event to address the future of film and ‌video content, according to the French Embassy in Seoul.

The meeting will debate how the film industry should respond to artificial intelligence, compete with social media platforms and cope with funding shortages, the secretary-general of the summit ⁠said in ​a press briefing ⁠on Thursday. On September 8, Lee will hold a summit and luncheon with Macron and attend a business ⁠roundtable along with executives from about 20 South Korean and French companies, Lee's office said.

South Korea views Lee's ​trip as an opportunity to expand cooperation with France in security, the economy ⁠and human interactions, following an upgrade of bilateral ties to a "strategic partnership" during Macron's visit to Seoul in ⁠April, Wi ​Sung-lac, Lee's national security adviser, told a briefing on Friday. "We expect this to serve as an opportunity to add fresh momentum to expanding our diplomacy with Europe," ⁠Wi said.

South Korea is also seeking to deepen cooperation in areas including AI, aerospace and biotech, ⁠he said. Before returning ⁠to Seoul, Lee will meet on September 9 with Yael Braun-Pivet, the head of the French lower house, and Mathias Cormann, secretary-general ‌of the ‌Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).