Paris Olympics organizers issue apology for wrongly identifying South Korean contingent as North Korea
The Paris Olympics organizers have issued an apology after an incident that saw South Korean contingent being wrongly introduced as North Korea. The incident happened at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics on July 26.
The blunder was made in both the English and French language broadcasts. Instead of announcing the South Korean contingent as the Republic of Korea, the announcer introduced them as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).
Taking to the social media platform X, the International Olympic Committee issued a heartfelt apology on its official Korean language account.
“We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the Korean team during the opening ceremony broadcast,” the IOC said in a post in Korean.
Thomas Back, the President of the IOC, also spoke with the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol. The statement further elaborated on the phone call made.
"The IOC President apologized sincerely for the mistake in the audio broadcast of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 last night, in which the team of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Korea (KSOC) was wrongly identified. The problem was identified as a human error, for which the IOC is deeply sorry." the statement read.
Paris Olympics opening ceremony blunder causes huge uproar
A significant uproar post the Paris Olympics opening ceremony abunder caused the IOC to swiftly address the issue. The South Korean sports ministry had announced its plan to file a strong complaint with the French government. There were plenty of brickbats targetted at the organizers on social media too.
The reason behind the uproar is the strained relationship that South Korea shares with its neighbors. There has been long standing diplomatic and political unrest between the two nations which makes the blunder appear worse.
By addressing the error, the IOC has tried to leave the incident behind and focus on the ongoing Paris Olympics. The IOC President also congratulated the President of the Republic of Korea on the country’s silver medal win in the 10m air rifle mixed team.