Yoon Hosts Dinner with Cannes Film Festival Stars Song Kang-ho and Park Chan-wook: "A Meaningful Achievement"

President Yoon "Will Roll Up Sleeves for the Film Industry"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 12th, President Yoon Seok-yeol held a dinner with film industry figures, including actor Song Kang-ho (Best Actor for the film Broker) and director Park Chan-wook (Best Director for the film Decision to Leave), both winners at the Cannes International Film Festival.

That afternoon, President Yoon invited Cannes awardees Song Kang-ho and Park Chan-wook, along with director Im Kwon-taek and Kim Dong-ho, chairman of the Gangneung International Film Festival, to a dinner at the lawn plaza of the Yongsan Presidential Office. The dinner was also attended by Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the chairman of the Korean Film Council, as well as representatives from production and investment-distribution companies.

This invitation dinner was arranged to celebrate the achievement of Korean films winning both Best Director and Best Actor awards simultaneously at Cannes, one of the world's top three film festivals, and the official selection of five Korean films.

President Yoon said, "Looking back, there was a time when domestic films were screened through screen quotas, wasn't there? But now, that is becoming a distant memory, and Korean films are not only loved more by the public but are also highly evaluated internationally for both artistic value and popularity."

He continued, "I believe this reflects our national prestige and the potential for national development. Since such a meaningful achievement was made at Cannes this time, I thought it was my duty to host you on behalf of the people and offer a modest dinner."

He also reaffirmed the government's commitment to support the normalization and resurgence of the film industry, which has recently been showing signs of recovery. President Yoon emphasized, "The principle of our government's cultural and artistic policy is 'to support but not interfere.' Also, we promise to roll up our sleeves and actively assist if there is anything necessary to develop the film industry, based on the voices of those working on the ground."

Meanwhile, just before the dinner, President Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee visited a movie theater in downtown Seoul to watch Broker. When asked by reporters about his thoughts on the film, President Yoon said, "It's a bit difficult to comment immediately after watching the film..." but added, "Not because it won an award at Cannes, but I think it is a film that delivers a good message that the preciousness of life and protecting life is something all members of our society must do together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.