Olympics organisers 'deeply apologise' for mistakenly calling South Korea North Korea during opening ceremony

It is not the first time this has happened. North Korea's women's football team walked off the pitch at London 2012 after the South Korean flag was shown on the screen as they prepared to take on Colombia.

Saturday 27 July 2024 14:43, UK

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Apology after South Korea introduced as North Korea
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Olympics officials have "deeply apologised" for announcing South Korean athletes as North Korean during the opening ceremony of the Paris games on Friday.

As South Korean athletes travelled along the River Seine as part of the ceremony on Friday, they were wrongly announced as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - the official name of North Korea.

South Korea's full name is the Republic of Korea.

The sign on the side of South Korea's boat on the Seine was correctly labelled.

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North Korean delegates wave their flag as they travel along the River Seine ahead of the opening ceremony in Paris. Pic: Reuters
Image: North Korean delegates wave their flag as they travel along the River Seine during the opening ceremony in Paris. Pic: Reuters
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After the mistake was made by announcers in both French and English, the Olympic committee posted on X: "We deeply apologise for the mistake that occurred when introducing the Korean team during the opening ceremony broadcast."

Mark Adams, a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), added in a statement: "An operational mistake was made. We can only apologise, in an evening of so many moving parts, that this mistake was made."

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Olympic delegates wave flags as they travel past Notre Dame on the way to the opening ceremony in Paris. Pic: Reuters
Image: Delegates wave flags as they travel past Notre Dame. Pic: Reuters
Spectators watch Olympic delegates go past along the Seine in Paris. Pic: Reuters
Image: Spectators watch delegates go past along the Seine in Paris. Pic: Reuters

It is not the first time this has happened.

North Korea's women's football team walked off the pitch at London 2012 after the South Korean flag was shown on the screen as they prepared to take on Colombia.

The team was convinced to come back and play after the flags were corrected, eventually winning the game 2-0.

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South Korea's Jihyeon Keum (left) nad Hajun Park with their silver medals from the 10m mixed air rifle competition. Pic: Reuters
Image: South Korea's Jihyeon Keum (left) and Hajun Park with their silver medals from the 10m mixed air rifle competition. Pic: Reuters

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

It said the ministry also asked South Korea's Foreign Ministry to file "a strong government-level complaint" with the French government.

The Korean peninsula has been split into South and North Korea since the end of the Second World War in 1945. The Korean War was fought over the borders in the early 1950s but the division has endured.

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