President Lee Jae-Myung’s State Visit: France-South Korea, a Partnership for the Future?

INSTITUT MONTAIGNE - Nuclear fuel, offshore wind, space, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors: high-tech industries now dominate the bilateral French-Korean agenda, against the backdrop of the Sino-American rivalry that is affecting all third countries. In your view, which sectors offer the greatest potential for joint strategic projects? Are France and South Korea becoming economic security partners?

PHILIPPE LI - The partnership between France and South Korea is gaining momentum, as both national economies face intense pressure from the United States and growing mistrust of China. This opens up an opportunity, initially limited but with significant potential. Everything is encouraging South Korea to turn to new partners beyond its traditional horizons.

The imperative need to secure the value chains of nations - and, through them, companies- is also leading stakeholders to seek greater meaning in their partnerships. The days when a certain degree of business opportunism was sufficient to justify commercial strategies are over. Trade, and exchanges more broadly, increasingly take into account the values and shared positions of partners. We can see concrete indications of this, as demonstrated by the report France’s Economic Footprint in South Korea: the French presence in Korea is becoming increasingly substantial. Many French companies are now integrated into Korean value chains. The sectors involved range from semiconductors (Air Liquide, Veolia) to automotive (Michelin and Valeo), as well as aerospace (Thales, Airbus and Safran) and defense (MBDA). Projects are also under way in sectors such as energy, quantum technologies and semiconductors. This exploration must be expanded.

In any case, the objective should be less on seeking complementarity between France and Korea than on compatibility: this notion takes greater account of the compatibility of corporate cultures and the ability to work together in the practical execution of a joint project-not only in terms of technical considerations, but also with regard to companies’ strategies and corporate cultures, the consistency between technical and commercial capabilities, and a shared vision of international development. There is often a tendency, in certain statements of intent, to focus too heavily on attractive concepts, without giving sufficient consideration to what comes next, namely the practical execution of projects. 

France and South Korea share certain characteristics, while others diverge, but ultimately this can be beneficial to both sides. France, in particular, possesses very strong capabilities in basic research, not only in the fields mentioned above, but also in healthcare, biotech and energy. Korea, for its part, has the capacity for mass-production and can bring an industrial and export dimension to projects that initially rely on technological innovations, sometimes lacking the necessary resources to scale up. If the alignment between the Korean and French economies takes into account the need to secure value chains and allows these chains to be tailored to the respective characteristics and strengths of each country, both countries will benefit.

Certain key areas could be particularly effective in mobilizing both sides. Semiconductors and AI are strong candidates, but cooperation with the United States remains Seoul’s first priority(though one hopes this dynamic may evolve given the political and geopolitical context). Space and aerospace sectors also represent highly promising opportunities: they have strong industrial potential but require technological excellence and a high degree of adaptability in rapidly changing sectors. Korea is ambitious in these areas, but France remains a step ahead in terms of track-record and market performance.

IM - Through its arms sales in Eastern Europe, South Korea has become an important player in Europe’s defense landscape. Is industrial or commercial cooperation with France conceivable, or are the two countries destined to compete for access to export markets, including in Europe? Could North Korean support for Russia lead South Korea to provide greater support for European defense efforts in support of Ukraine?

PL - In many sectors (defense AI, nuclear power and automotive), South Korea and France are rivals. However, the major development of recent years is that Korea has become a manufacturer of defense equipment and military hardware and has entered the markets of the former Eastern bloc with extraordinary speed. The two countries are therefore in direct competition, and it would be unrealistic to deny this.

Rather than denouncing supposedly aggressive Korean business practices, it is important to bear in mind that being competitors does not prevent countries or companies from being partners, especially since defense matters are not solely about commercial considerations. Dialogue is possible, starting with mutually beneficial exchanges of experience, even between competing companies.

This is already happening. Korea has industry leaders such as Hanwha Aerospace, Hyundai Rotem, Korea Aerospace Industries and LIG Nex1, whose international expansion is impressive. It is understandable that major French groups are seeking partnership, and even long-term alliances, with Korean companies, allowing them to become key players and participate in projects in Korea and beyond: the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere. Recent acquisitions and equity investments confirm this trend. For example, Air Liquide recently announced that it had invested €3 billion to acquire DIG Airgas, an industrial gases company, which will facilitate closer ties with SK Hynix.

As for closer diplomatic positions, beyond the purely industrial dimension, Korea maintains an measured stance toward Russia and the conflict in Ukraine. South Korean diplomacy is characterized by its ability to avoid excluding anyone, allowing Seoul to retain latitude with all parties. Seoul supplies weapons to the United States, such as artillery systems, ammunition, components, subsystems and electronics which the United States then sells or uses directly on the Ukrainian battlefield. South Korea is therefore involved from a distance, but it refrains from taking a direct position.

One factor, however, should not be overlooked: every conflict, including the war in Ukraine, paradoxically offers those exposed to it certain benefits in terms of real-world experience and operational knowledge. By refusing to take a direct side, Korea is depriving itself of these indirect benefits and is not developing an experience comparable to that acquired by France.

IM - Culture attracts considerable attention, and soft power is often highlighted in relations between France and Korea. Is this the right approach? Is there not a mismatch in priorities between issues of competitiveness, economic security and strategic partnership, on the one hand, and the attention of the general public, on the other?

PL - France and South Korea both pursue active policies to support cultural creation and share a common cultural priority: the Cannes Film Festival chaired by Park Chan-wook, a special Korean-language program at the Avignon Festival, and the co-chairmanship of a summit on cinema and moving images on September 7 in Paris. A robust cultural agenda is essential to a meeting such as that between Emmanuel Macron and Lee Jae-myung. Both France and Korea can now claim cultural excellence on an equal footing, whereas a few years ago France was the country that enjoyed greater cultural reach and appeared to be the driving force.
Today, not only are the two countries on an equal footing when it comes to popular culture, they also have comparable capacities to influence global creative industries. One could even say that Korea has surpassed France among the world’s youth.

This is also the result of an effective strategy. In Korea, culture is not treated as something "separate," subject but placed at the heart of a system that combines commerce, industry, engineering and technology. K-pop, for example, is promoted in a way that complements and boosts the Korean cosmetics industry, which rise has been spectacular. Exports are the driving force of the Korean economy, and trading beyond the country’s borders is second nature. Culture is no exception. Cinema, television series, music and songs reinforce one another as part of an international and industrialized approach.

France, by contrast, appears more confined to a traditional artistic approach that is less trade and not integrated into a broader system comparable to Korea’s. Korea now views its culture as an export commodity, applying a rationale not dissimilar to that applied for automobiles or electronics. The emphasis is less on "protecting culture" than on "conquering markets."

Yet, political convergence between France and Korea may seem feasible, particularly in a context of the growing dominance of digital platforms. Korea is committed to protecting its culture, as demonstrated by the screen quota system in cinemas. However, it would be surprising for Korea to seek confrontation with platforms, as this would amount to cutting off its own wings: the international reach of Korean cinema and television series is a direct result of streaming and new digital distribution channels.

However, rather than limiting itself to advocating a protective and defensive approach, a shared vision of soft power would benefit from developing more co-productions, which are currently quite few in number, due to technical challenges stemming from disparate formats and regulatory constraints. The opportunities offered by new technologies enable unrestricted, dematerialized forms of creation that are no longer bound by time or place. That’s exactly what audiences are waiting for!

Interview by Hortense Miginiac
Copyright Ludovic MARIN / AFP
Emmanuel Macron and Lee Jae Myung in Évian on June 16, 2026, during the G7