Director Park Chan-wook Becomes First Korean Jury President at Cannes, to Announce and Present the Palme d'Or

[Financial News] Director Park Chan-wook has been appointed jury president of the 79th Cannes Film Festival.
The Cannes Film Festival Organizing Committee announced on the 25th (local time) that Park has been named president of the competition jury for this year’s festival, which opens on May 12.
This is the first time in the history of the Cannes Film Festival that a Korean director has served as jury president. Among Asian directors, it is the first time in 20 years since Wong Kar-wai held the post in 2006. The first Asian to chair the jury was Japanese journalist and diplomat Tetsuro Furugaki in 1962.
Korean filmmakers have served on Cannes juries six times. Director Shin Sang-ok in 1994, director Lee Chang-dong in 2009, actor Jeon Do-yeon in 2014, director Park Chan-wook in 2017, actor Song Kang-ho in 2021, and director Hong Sang-soo in 2025 all took part in selecting the winners in the competition section.
Explaining the appointment, the Cannes Film Festival Organizing Committee stated, "Park Chan-wook’s originality, visual mastery, and his ability to capture the complex inner lives of men and women bound by strange destinies have given contemporary cinema truly unforgettable moments."
It added, "We are delighted to honor Park’s exceptional talent, and it is all the more meaningful that we can spotlight the cinema of a country so deeply engaged with the questions of our time."
Accepting the role of jury president, Park said, "The reason theaters are dark is so that we can see the light of cinema," and added, "In an age of hatred and division, I believe that the simple act of gathering in a theater to watch a film together, sharing our breath and heartbeats, is in itself moving and a universal expression of solidarity."
The Cannes Film Festival is known for favoring a tradition of collective consensus over simple voting. The jury president takes part in selecting the main winners in the official competition, including the Palme d'Or, the Grand Prix, the Best Director award, the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, and the Best Screenplay award. At the closing ceremony, the president announces and presents the Palme d'Or on behalf of the jury.
The jury president also chairs the deliberations of the jury, which usually consists of around eight to nine members including the president, and works to balance interpretations of the films and the standards of evaluation. In particular, when opinions diverge, the president acts as a mediator, steering the discussion and helping the group reach a consensus.
The 79th Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 12 to 23 in the resort city of Cannes in southern France.

jashin@fnnews.com Reporter Shin Jin-ah Reporter