President Lee Jae-myung told French President Emmanuel Macron that South Korea will decide how to contribute to security in the Strait of Hormuz based on national interests and public consensus, resisting pressure for a rapid troop deployment. Seoul remains in discussions with France, Britain and the United States on practical contributions to keep the waterway open, but officials said no military or nonmilitary option has been selected and the review has not advanced to a debate over combat roles. The position was outlined during Lee's Paris summit with Macron, where the leaders also discussed Ukraine, bilateral defense cooperation and strategic industries. South Korea and France agreed to deepen cooperation across defense, AI, semiconductors, quantum technology, space, nuclear energy, biotechnology, culture and economic exchanges. They signed 16 memorandums of understanding and other documents, including measures related to defense industries, advanced technology and nuclear cooperation, while targeting $20 billion in bilateral trade by 2030. The countries also agreed to revise their classified military-information protection arrangement, pursue a mutual logistics support agreement and launch a high-level civilian nuclear dialogue. Their business agenda included projects involving sovereign AI, quantum computing, power-grid equipment, mobility, biotechnology and beauty, alongside Samsung Electronics' investment agreement with Mistral AI. Lee and Macron further agreed to invest a combined 1 billion euros in film and video industries over five years.