PARIS: Olympic organizers have issued an apology following South Korea’s athletes were wrongly introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony in Paris.
As the enthusiastic, flag-waving team floated down the River Seine, both English and French announcers introduced them as North Korea. However, the same name was then used – properly – when North Korea’s players sailed past.
The two sides have been divided since the end of World War Two, with high tensions between the countries further escalating recently. However, the subtitle which ran across the bottom of the tv broadcast presented the actual title.
The South Korean ministry for sports announced it planned to record a “strong complaint with France on official level” over the embarrassing blunder.
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In a statement, the ministry of sports expressed “regret” over the matter and said that the second vice sports minister, Jang Mi-ran had demanded a meeting with Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
On the other hand, the International Olympic Committee also issued an apology on its official Korean-language social media account.
South Korea, officially known as the Republic of Korea, has around 143 players in its Olympic team this year, competing in 21 events. North Korea has also sent around 16 athletes to compete in the event.
