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| Fleur Pellerin, former French culture minister, sets out on a new task of disrupting U.S.-China digital dominance with her start-up investment fund. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Oh Young-jin
Fleur Pellerin is a digital activist, globalist, businesswoman, politician and many other things, all at once. And the former French culture minister and now CEO and founder of a startup incubator and venture capitalist can play all these roles with a hint of mastery over just 30 minutes.
For any potential detractor, her utilitarian use of English words and French accent finish off the job.
A Korea Times interview with Pellerin was conducted at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Seoul, July 3, after her lecture organized by the French Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The instant the 30 minutes with her started, it was clear what Pellerin was about ― a combination of cause and business.
Pellerin, who was minister of SMEs, Innovation and the Digital Economy under the socialist French President Francois Hollande, aims to provide a level playing field for startups in Europe and Asia in a global digital world dominated by the United States and China.
Although she does not prefer using the words, when all is said and done, it is about justice in opportunity and fairness in distribution.
For that goal, she laid out a three-pronged strategy.
Pellerin has made investments in Europe. Now she is finding Korean startups to invest in. Then, the last part of the strategy is linking them with other markets ― Korean firms to Europe and European firms to Korea.
The result: a large network of startup firms supported by a strong group of investors, enabling Europe and Asia to counterbalance China-U.S. dominance in the global tech ecosystem and compete with the two.
"Initially, we tried to identify European champions and have them grow in Asia, in order to make them really international companies and create companies that can really compete with global tech giants," she said.
"Tomorrow, there will be very big companies in mobility areas, digital content areas, lifestyle areas … there will be a lot of innovation. We don't want that innovation to be captured only by big U.S. tech companies and Chinese tech companies."
So she suggested a coalition of Europe, Korea and other parts of Asia.
The coalition would be able to overcome the barrier standing in the way of growth ― the lack of a "single market" or global scale of economy.
Pellerin said the big ecosystem would provide a level playing field for European and Asian startups that could attract the resources and talent available to their U.S. and Chinese rivals.
It would help prevent small markets like France and Korea from being forced into being mere providers under standards and rules set by big economies in artificial intelligence (AI), telecommunications and other future-defining areas.
But she denied it was a clash of civilizations or an anti-Chinese, anti-U.S. crusade.
"China uses facial recognition systems to control people, which can't be accepted in France," Pellerin said. "Also, about efforts being made to clone humans in China, we don't agree.
"If China gets stronger and sets the standards, that means we have to follow them. It is the same with Americans.
"You eat McDonald's, drink Starbucks coffee and watch Marvel movies. It is very powerful smart power. Is it good? Maybe not for diversity. Then our children are exposed only to American content, not Korean or French movies or literature," she said, summing it up as the loss of "our" way of life.
Her vehicle for change is Korelya Capital, which Pellerin set up in 2017 with funds of $120 million from Lee Hae-jin, the founder of Naver, Korea's biggest portal.
Lee has now given up day-to-day control of his brainchild that is dominant in news provision and serves as a platform for games, shopping and real estate and has been searching for the next "it" item.
A Naver official told The Korea Times that Lee divides his time between Korea, Europe and Japan.
Korelya has completed 15 direct investments in Europe. When asked whether she has any specific target areas, Pellerin said: "We are agnostic about sectors."
One investment is the European equivalent of Uber, Bolt, which originated in Estonia. It has grown into a multinational company whose services have spread all over Europe and Russia. "It is No.1 in Africa and worth $1 billion," Pellerin said.
Devialet, a maker of speakers that the French President also favors, is another. "Devialet will soon launch in Korea," Pellerin said, explaining its products are luxurious in design with perfect sound quality. The Korelya portfolio also includes AI and blockchain.
Does the name have any particular meaning? Pellerin said it is borrowed from Corellia in the movie "Star Wars," which is the home world of Han Solo. It represents ingenuity and the spirit of adventure.
Last but not least, she stressed the importance of the government's role ― striking the right balance in regulation so innovation can flourish while consumers are protected.
Then, the regulator needs to bear in mind that a regulation imposed on domestic firms sometimes ends up helping foreign competitors, a case of reverse discrimination.
By those standards, what would her verdict on President Emmanuel Macron, the 41-year-old sensation that reset the French political establishment, she only said that a great leader should be able to see the big picture _ in which he or she drives an innovation-based growth while helping those disaffected in the process stand back up.
Is Macron the great leader? Pellerin, the politician, said that it is too early to tell.
