IOC apologizes for South Korea gaffe

MANILA, Philippines — The International Olympic Committee apologized yesterday for a gaffe during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in which South Korean athletes were incorrectly introduced as North Korean.

As the South Korean delegation sailed down the Seine River in the French capital, they were introduced with the official name for North Korea: “Republique populaire democratique de Coree” in French, then “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” in English.

“We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,” the IOC said in a post on its official Korean-language X account.

The error sparked displeased reactions in South Korea, a global cultural and technological powerhouse that is technically still at war with the nuclear-armed and impoverished North.

South Korea’s sports ministry said in a statement it “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.”

Second vice sports minister Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, has asked for a meeting with IOC chief Thomas Bach to discuss the matter, it added.

The sports ministry has also asked the foreign ministry to “deliver a strong protest to the French side” over the issue, the statement said.

South Korea’s National Olympic Committee plans to meet with the Paris Olympics Organizing Committee and the IOC to voice their protest, request measures to prevent a recurrence, and send an official letter of protest under the name of the head of its delegation, the sports ministry said.

North Korea was correctly introduced with the country’s official name.

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North bolstering military ties with Russia while sending thousands of trash-carrying balloons to the South.

In response, Seoul’s military blasts K-pop and anti-regime messages from border loudspeakers and recently resumed live-fire drills on border islands and near the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean peninsula.