South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is heading to France for a four-day state visit that will put diplomacy, advanced technology and the future of global entertainment on the same agenda.
Lee will visit France from September 6 to 9, 2026, at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. The trip will combine a high-level international film summit with formal bilateral talks aimed at turning the countries’ newly upgraded relationship into deeper cooperation across security, business, technology and culture.
But the most attention-grabbing part of the trip may not happen inside the Élysée Palace.
Lee and Macron are scheduled to co-chair the inaugural Lumière Summit on Sept. 7 in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a summit focused on the future of cinema and moving-image industries.
And with artificial intelligence rapidly changing how films and other video content are created, distributed and consumed, the meeting could become an important test of how governments and entertainment companies respond to the industry’s next technological disruption.
From K-content to the global film industry
The Lumière Summit is designed to bring together governments, technology companies, filmmakers and entertainment executives to discuss the forces reshaping cinema.
Around 150 high-level participants from more than 30 countries are expected, according to the Élysée Palace. Discussions will include the impact of artificial intelligence, media-literacy education and the industry’s changing economic model.
Reuters and AsiaOne reporting add another dimension: the summit is expected to examine how the film industry can compete for audiences against social-media platforms while dealing with increasingly difficult financing conditions. Representatives connected to major Hollywood studios, Netflix and the technology sector are also expected to participate.
For South Korea, the meeting is an opportunity to push its expanding K-content industry deeper into European and international markets.
South Korea’s global cultural influence now extends well beyond traditional cinema, with K-pop and Korean film becoming major components of the country’s international soft power.
Then the focus shifts to Macron and state-to-state diplomacy
After the Lumière Summit, Lee will travel to Paris for the core state-visit programme.
On Sept. 8, he is scheduled to meet Macron for a private luncheon before the two leaders hold an expanded summit with their respective delegations.
A Korea-France business roundtable involving about 20 companies is also planned, followed by a state dinner hosted by Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, at the Élysée Palace.
Lee’s final day in France will include meetings with Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of France’s National Assembly, and Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
He is also expected to meet members of the Korean community in France.
Why this visit matters strategically
The timing is significant.
France and South Korea upgraded their relationship to a “Global Strategic Partnership” in April 2026, during Macron’s visit to Seoul.
That agreement established a much broader framework for cooperation covering defence and security, trade, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, semiconductors, energy, space, science and culture.
Lee’s September visit therefore represents an opportunity to move that agreement from diplomatic language toward concrete projects.
South Korean National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Seoul wants to expand cooperation with France in areas including AI, aerospace, nuclear energy and biotechnology.
That technology agenda could ultimately prove just as important as the highly visible film summit.
AI is becoming a major Korea-France issue
Artificial intelligence is one of the clearest areas where Seoul and Paris see room for cooperation.
Their April joint statement specifically identified AI, quantum computing and semiconductors as strategic areas for deeper collaboration, including research, business partnerships and technology development.
The two countries also agreed to cooperate on biotechnology using AI and welcomed arrangements aimed at strengthening research links.
The September talks could therefore provide a political framework for companies and research institutions to develop more practical partnerships.
Security will also be on the table
Despite the attention surrounding cinema and K-content, this is not simply a cultural visit.
The April Global Strategic Partnership includes expanded defence cooperation, strategic exchanges, information sharing and cooperation between the two countries’ defence industries.
France and South Korea also agreed to deepen cooperation related to maritime and port security, civil protection and other regional security issues.
Both countries have also expressed support for a free, safe and open Indo-Pacific and reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearisation and lasting peace of the Korean Peninsula.
A symbolic year for both countries
The visit comes as South Korea and France mark 140 years of diplomatic relations, adding historical significance to what is already an unusually broad agenda.
Diplomatic relations date back to 1886, while the countries’ previous comprehensive partnership framework was established in 2004. The new Global Strategic Partnership announced in April represents a major expansion of that relationship.
So while the headline may be about a Korean president travelling to France to discuss films with Macron, the bigger story is much broader.
Seoul and Paris are trying to build a relationship that connects K-content, AI, advanced technology, business, defence and diplomacy — all at the same time.
And the Lumière Summit may offer the most visible stage yet for that new partnership.
What is confirmed
- Lee Jae Myung will visit France Sept. 6–9, 2026.
- He will co-chair the Lumière Summit with Emmanuel Macron on Sept. 7.
- The summit will take place in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
- Around 150 participants from more than 30 countries are expected.
- AI, funding pressures and competition from social-media platforms are among the film industry’s issues being discussed.
- Lee and Macron will hold bilateral summit talks in Paris on Sept. 8.
- A business roundtable involving about 20 companies is planned.
- Seoul wants deeper cooperation with France in AI, aerospace, nuclear energy, biotechnology and other advanced sectors.
- The visit follows the April 2026 decision to elevate Korea-France ties to a Global Strategic Partnership.
- The two countries are marking 140 years of diplomatic relations.
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