[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung, currently making a state visit to France, has delivered the opening speech at an international film and audiovisual summit. President Lee is set to hold a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron tonight (Korean time), where discussions on troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz are also expected to take place.

Park Yerim reports from the scene.

[Reporter]

The opening ceremony of the Lumière Summit, an international film and audiovisual summit, took place in the southern French city of Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

Attending as co-chair alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, President Lee Jae-myung took the podium to deliver the opening address.

Mentioning the decline in theater attendance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and copyright issues brought on by artificial intelligence, President Lee emphasized that crises must be turned into opportunities.

[President Lee Jae-myung: We must build an era where artificial intelligence develops more responsibly and in a human-centric manner, ensuring its benefits provide fair opportunities for everyone.]

President Lee also announced concrete investment plans to foster the prosperity of the film and audiovisual industries in both South Korea and France, which the Cheong Wa Dae explained will serve as an opportunity to diversify the global reach of K-content.

[President Lee Jae-myung: This includes a commitment by South Korea and France to each invest 500 million euros—approximately 800 billion won in Korean currency—into the film and audiovisual sectors over the next five years.]

During the ensuing conversation with film professionals, President Lee met with film directors Lee Chang-dong and July Jung, as well as actors Sul Kyung-gu and Jeon Do-yeon, to discuss investments in the cultural and arts industries and support for cultural artists.

President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to hold a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris tonight, Korean time.

Given that President Macron hosted a virtual multilateral summit last April for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, coordination on the troop deployment requested by the United States is also expected to be on the agenda.

(Camera Journalist: Yoon Hyung | Video Editor: Wee Won-yang)