The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Saturday, July 27 extended an apology after a French presenter mistakenly introduced South Korea as North Korea during the opening ceremony in the French capital city of Paris on Friday, July 26.
The incident took place during the opening ceremony at river Seine when the South Korean delegation was introduced as “republique populaire democratique de Coree,” followed by the English translation to “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” However, hours after this incident, the South Korean sports ministry expressed regret on the same.
“South Korea’s sports ministry expresses regret over the announcement during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team,” the Ministry was quoted as saying by AFP in a statement. Moreover, South Korea’s second Vice Sports Minister, Jang Mi-ran requested a meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Chief Thomas Bach to discuss the matter, but the IOC was quick to issue an apology.
IOC issues apology to South Korea over opening ceremony incident
While this matter hit the South Koreans different, the International Olympic Committee was quick to apologise on the matter. “We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,” IOC said in a tweet of their official handle in Korean language.
It is to be noted that South Korea and North Korea are technically at war since the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty in 1953.