Seoul regrets that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organisers the mistake will not happen again.
As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” – the official name of North Korea – in French and English.
The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.
South Korea’s vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.
“We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering,” it said.
The Seoul regret saw South Korea’s National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games’ organisers and requested that the error will not be repeated.
South Korea’s delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.
Seoul’s regret must be all the more galling since the South has consistently sent teams to the Olympics. The Republic Of Korea, as it is officially called, is a more familiar name in the Olympic lexicon than Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The International Olympic Committee issued an apology on its Korean language X account saying that “We would like to offer a deep apology over a mistake that occurred in the introduction of the South Korean delegation during the opening ceremony.”
South Korea and North Korea have been divided since World War II and in recent times tensions between them have escalated. The North is incensed over the South’s war drills with the US, while Seoul is concerned over the North’s frequent bouts of sabre rattling.
With Reuters inputs
