President Lee Jae-myung departed on the 6th for a five-day state visit to France, traveling at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited South Korea in April. Lee will attend an international film and video summit. The trip is expected to produce wide-ranging discussions covering cultural cooperation as well as advanced industries such as artificial intelligence and nuclear power, security and economic issues, and joint responses in the Strait of Hormuz.
Lee left from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, aboard Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, to attend the Lumiere Summit, an international film and video summit being held in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in southern France. First lady Kim Hye-kyung accompanied him.
Sending the couple off at the airport were Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Ihk-pyo, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok, Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do, Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Ho-jung, First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, and Philomene Robin-Pierron, France's charge d'affaires to South Korea.
Lee boarded the aircraft in a dark navy suit with a dark navy diagonally striped tie, while Kim wore a light purple two-piece outfit. Shortly before departure, Lee wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the visit came at the invitation of Macron, who traveled to Korea in April, as the two countries mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations. "As co-chair countries of the Lumiere Summit alongside France, we will explore the future of the film and video industries and further expand cultural and content cooperation between our two countries," he said.
Lee also relayed news of search and rescue efforts for nine South Koreans missing in the Nepal flood disaster. "While I am in France, I will continue to receive reports on the situation and see that necessary measures are taken," he added.
