Park Chan-wook named first Korean jury President in Cannes Film Festival history

Park Chan-wook will lead the jury at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Korean filmmaker to serve in that role. Festival organizers announced Thursday that the director of ‘Oldboy’ and ‘No Other Choice’ will preside over the panel that awards the Palme d’Or. The festival runs from May 12 to 23.Park Chan-wook has a long history with the Cannes Film Festival. His film ‘Oldboy’ won the Grand Prix, the festival’s second prize, in 2004. He later received the jury prize in 2009 for ‘Thirst’ and the best director in 2022 for ‘Decision to Leave.’Festival president Iris Knobloch and director Thierry Frémaux praised his body of work in a joint statement. “Park Chan-wook’s inventiveness, visual mastery, and penchant for capturing the multiple impulses of women and men with strange destinies have given contemporary cinema some truly memorable moments,” they said. “We are delighted to celebrate his immense talent and, more broadly, the cinema of a country deeply engaged with the questioning of our time.”Chan-wook follows Juliette Binoche, who served as jury president in Cannes when Jafar Panahi’s ‘It Was Just an Accident’ won the Palme d’Or in 2025. Another Korean filmmaker, Bong Joon Ho, claimed the Palme in 2019 for ‘Parasite.’Chan-wook’s latest film, ‘No Other Choice,’ centers on an unemployed family man who decides to eliminate his competition for a new job. The film was selected as Korea’s Oscar submission but did not receive a nomination. The Associated Press named it one of the best films of 2025.With his appointment, Chan-wook adds another milestone to a Cannes career spanning more than two decades. This year, he will help decide which film takes home the festival’s top honor.