Lee Jae Myung launches 'Lumière Partnership' with France to shore up global film industry

President Lee Jae Myung has officially launched the "Lumière Partnership," a joint initiative under which South Korea and France will each invest 800 billion won ($590 million) and 500 million euros ($581 million) in the film and audiovisual industry over the next five years. The partnership is designed to help both countries navigate a film industry shaken by declining theater attendance and the rapid spread of AI.

Speaking Monday (local time) as co-chair of the Lumière Summit — an international film and audiovisual industry summit held in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in southern France — Lee announced that South Korea and France had agreed to jointly launch the Lumière Partnership, a global investment and cooperation initiative for the film and audiovisual sector.

"Through this partnership, South Korea and France will each invest 800 billion won and 500 million euros in the film and audiovisual industry over five years, from 2027 to 2031," Lee said. "I hope this partnership will go beyond a bilateral relationship and become a light illuminating a new future for the global film and audiovisual industry."

Lee laid out the challenges confronting the industry in detail. "We are in a crisis for theaters," he said. "The pandemic brought sweeping changes to the habit of gathering together to watch films, and the spread of OTT services has sharply reduced the number of times people go to the cinema." He also identified the rise of global OTT platforms — and the resulting erosion of local broadcasters' and content producers' influence — as a new challenge the industry must address.

On AI, Lee said it presents both an opportunity for innovation and unresolved questions around job losses and copyright. He also cited the need to preserve diversity in independent film. "Now is the time to pool our wisdom and turn these changes into opportunities rather than crises," he said.

Lee went on to say that "as a key player in the global AI supply chain, South Korea will do its part to ensure that humans and AI can coexist in harmony," and pledged that "multilateral cooperation is needed so that more independent films can continue to be made — South Korea will be a steadfast partner for independent film." On local content, he said South Korea would work to establish "the co-existence and mutual prosperity of local and global content as the first principle of the film industry."

Lee also noted the significance of this year for Korean cinema. "2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the release of Na Woon-gyu's 'Arirang,' making it a year of special meaning in the history of Korean film," he said. "Arirang" is considered the first Korean film, originally released in 1926.

He went on to trace the arc of Korean cinema's rise, noting that "Parasite," which explored class issues in Korean society, and director Lee Chang-dong's "Burning" both competed at the Cannes Film Festival and elevated the standing of Korean film worldwide, while "Kingdom" and "KPop Demon Hunters" introduced the gat — a traditional Joseon-era hat — and Korean culture to audiences around the world.

"I hope that this summit, named after the Lumière brothers — the founders of cinema — will go down in history as a special forum that has driven innovation and growth in the film industry," Lee said.