South Korea introduced as 'North Korea' at Olympic Games opening ceremony

The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games officially began yesterday. According to a report by the South Korea-based news agency Yonhap, during the athletes' parade at the opening of the Paris Olympics, South Korea was mistakenly introduced by the official name of North Korea, the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

In a statement from the South Korean Ministry of Sports, it was reported that they were saddened by the incident and that a meeting regarding the matter had been requested with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach.

The statement noted that the IOC was asked to respond to the mistake, adding, "We have also requested that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodge a strong complaint with France at the government level. The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee has asked the Paris Olympics Organizing Committee to prevent similar incidents from recurring."

Meanwhile, the head of the South Korean mission to the Paris Olympics, Jeong Gang-sun, will also convey his country's protest to the IOC.

North Korea, which participated in the parade as the 153rd country according to the French alphabetical order, was introduced correctly.

APOLOGY RECEIVED

In the meantime, a post on the IOC's official Korean-language X account stated, "We would like to offer a deep apology for the error that occurred during the introduction of the South Korean delegation at the opening ceremony."

However, the IOC has not yet issued an apology on its English-language social media account.

News Source: 12punto