South Korea Wrongly Introduced As North Korea At Paris Olympics

As the South Korean athletes waved their nation's flag on a boat floating down the Seine River Friday evening, they were announced in both French and English as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 27 July 2024 7:09 pm

South Korean Team At Paris Olympics 2024 | Photo: AP

Olympic organisers have issued a "deep apology" after South Korea's athletes were mistakenly introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony in Paris.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued an apology on its official Korean-language X account, saying: "We would like to offer a deep apology over the mistake that occurred in the introduction of the South Korean delegation during the opening ceremony."

The South Korean Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism Vice Minister Jang Mi Ran requested a meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach over the incident, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

An error occurred in our broadcast when introducing the team of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Republic of Korea during the Opening Ceremony, we apologise sincerely. pic.twitter.com/LfUPLrtaYv
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) July 27, 2024

It said the ministry also asked South Korea's Foreign Ministry to file “a strong government-level complaint” with the French government, AP reported.

The statement said South Korea's Olympic committee separately asked the organisers of the Paris Games to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.

The Korean peninsula has been bitterly divided into South Korea and North Korea since the end of World War II in 1945. The blue sign on the boat carrying the South Korean athletes did show the correct name.

South Korea, formally known as the Republic of Korea, has 143 athletes in its Olympic team this year, competing across 21 sports.

North Korea has sent 16 athletes. This is the first time it has competed in the games since Rio 2016.