South Korea and France Launch "Lumiere Partnership," Each Investing 800 Billion Won Over Five Years
SLL, Naver, and Korean Film Council Sign International Agreements
Korea and Italy Also Ink Film Co-production Pact
South Korea and France are investing significant amounts of policy funding and activating an international cooperation network in response to the paradigm shift in the global video content market.
On September 7 (local time), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism declared the launch of the "International Film and Audiovisual Industry Investment Cooperation Initiative (Lumiere Partnership)" at the opening ceremony of the "Lumiere Summit," which was co-hosted with the French Ministry of Culture at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. Over the next five years, the two governments plan to each invest 500 million euros (about 800 billion won) into their respective industries. In addition, an operating committee comprising related organizations will be established to specify collaborative measures in production, investment, and distribution.
This event, which marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and France and gathered around 200 participants from 50 countries, was organized to establish a multilateral framework in response to the widespread adoption of online video services (OTT) and developments in artificial intelligence (AI).
This intergovernmental alliance has led to the signing of business agreements between the private and public sectors. The Korean content production company SLL has agreed with Mediawan, the largest media group in Europe, to identify projects for IP-based origin remakes and multi-genre co-productions. Naver has signed an agreement with the French National Audiovisual Institute (INA) to jointly research AI-based archive preservation and restoration, discover digital content, and facilitate exchanges among professionals. The Korean Film Council has committed to collaborate with the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in four areas: discovering new talent and training professionals, exchanging specialized personnel, sharing information and knowledge, and organizing screening events.
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The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also forged an independent video cooperation platform with Italy. During this summit, it signed the "Korea-Italy Film Co-production Agreement" with the Italian Ministry of Culture—an independent agreement that goes beyond the existing Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which previously required participation from at least two countries. Films recognized as co-productions by both countries will be eligible for the same benefits as domestic films, including incentives from the film development fund, tax credits, various forms of support, and guarantees for the smooth movement of production personnel and equipment.
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