Olympic organizers have said they are “deeply sorry” after mistakenly introducing South Korea as North Korea during the opening ceremony in Paris.
As South Korea’s team happily floated down the River Seine, waving their flags, both French and English announcers called them the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” – North Korea’s official name.
When North Korea’s team passed by later, the announcers correctly used the same name.
Since the end of World War II, South and North Korea have been divided, with recent tensions escalating further.
Despite the mix-up, the TV broadcast subtitle displayed the correct name.
South Korea’s sports ministry announced it would file a “strong complaint with France on a government level” over the error.
They expressed regret about the mistake and said that second vice sports minister Jang Mi-ran, an Olympic weightlifting champion, had asked to meet with Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) apologized on its Korean-language X account, saying, “We deeply apologize for the mistake during the introduction of the South Korean delegation at the opening ceremony.”
This year, South Korea has 143 athletes competing in 21 sports at the Olympics. North Korea has 16 athletes, marking their first participation in the Games since Rio 2016.
Credit to BBC for the original report.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cmj2r1403jpo