President delivers opening address at Lumière Summit

President Lee Jae Myung delivers the opening address at the Lumière Summit, an international film and content industry summit, at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southern France, on Monday (local time). Korea and France serve as co-chairs of the summit. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung delivers the opening address at the Lumière Summit, an international film and content industry summit, at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southern France, on Monday (local time). Korea and France serve as co-chairs of the summit. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung announced the launch of the "Lumière Partnership" on Monday (local time) during a visit to France, pledging that Korea and France would each invest 500 million euros ($581 million) and about 800 billion won ($590 million), respectively, in the film and content industry over the next five years.

Speaking at the opening of the Lumière Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Lee said he was announcing "the launch of a global film and content industry investment cooperation initiative for the prosperity and mutual growth of the Korean and French film and content industries."

He said Korea would "take a responsible role in leading the production of local content that resonates with people across borders and languages, while working to establish the coexistence and mutual growth of local and global as the foremost principle of the world's film and content industry." He added that the partnership would "serve as a firm stepping stone for local content to reach the global stage, building on investment to revitalize each country's film and content industry and leading to joint investment and co-production between the two countries."

Lee expressed hope that the partnership would "go beyond the bilateral relationship, expand to the world, and become a light that brightly illuminates a new future for the global film and content industry."

Lee described the film and content industry as a comprehensive art form combining artistic and commercial value, and an important resource for shaping a nation's image and enhancing its soft power.

He highlighted the global success of Korean content — citing "Parasite" and "KPop Demon Hunters" among others — calling it "the result of solid content with Korea's own originality, achieved in tandem with advances in technology and industry."

Lee also noted that shifts in media consumption habits since the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with the rapid spread of AI technology, were driving a sweeping transformation in how films and content are produced and consumed.

"If we fail to respond properly to the changes of the times, it will clearly be a crisis," he said, "but if we respond proactively, it will clearly be an opportunity." He went on to say that industry leaders who have driven innovation in film and content must come together to find the wisdom needed to navigate those changes.

Lee identified the challenges facing the film and content industry as the crisis of theatrical exhibition, the threats and opportunities posed by AI, support for independent film and diversity, and the need for coexistence and cooperation between local and global players.

President Lee Jae Myung and French President Emmanuel Macron make their way to the venue at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where the Lumière Summit is being held, on Monday (local time). [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung and French President Emmanuel Macron make their way to the venue at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where the Lumière Summit is being held, on Monday (local time). [Yonhap]

On AI in particular, Lee identified job losses within the industry, the replication of actors' likenesses and voices, and issues surrounding copyright and training data as challenges that must be addressed.

He called on film and content industry professionals present to "join together in ensuring that AI technology in the creative process is used to support human growth on the basis of human-centered values," and said Korea, "as a key country in the global AI supply chain, will fulfill its responsibility to ensure that humans and AI can coexist in harmony."

In addition, Lee said the spread of global OTT services "has also brought challenges that must be resolved," and expressed confidence that "the global film and content ecosystem will become healthier and richer if local broadcasters and OTT platforms in each country work toward mutual growth by producing and discovering creative and diverse content with their own distinct character and perspective."

The Lumière Summit brought together about 150 senior executives, policymakers, political leaders and figures from the arts and culture world representing the film, broadcasting, content and gaming industries from more than 30 countries.

Lee co-chaired the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, working to lead discussions on the future of the global film and content industry and to expand the foundation for K-content to enter European and global markets.


sang@heraldcorp.com