Paris Olympic Organizers Apologize for Major Mistake During Opening Ceremony
- During the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, South Korean athletes were introduced as North Korean.
- This mistake prompted South Korea to request a meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach to address the issue.
- The IOC has since issued a formal apology for the incident.
In a significant blunder during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, South Korean athletes were mistakenly introduced as North Koreans. As the South Korean delegation paraded on a boat along the Seine River, announcers referred to them as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the official name for North Korea. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a formal apology, acknowledging the error and expressing regret for the confusion caused. The IOC's president, Thomas Bach, has reached out to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to apologize personally. Yoon's office reported that the South Korean leader expressed the shock and embarrassment felt by his nation and requested that the IOC take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced plans to file a strong complaint with the French government regarding the incident. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams described the mistake as "clearly deeply regrettable," attributing it to an operational error amid the complexities of the ceremony. This incident is not unprecedented; a similar mix-up occurred during the 2012 London Olympics when South Korea's flag was displayed alongside North Korea's team. As the two Koreas remain divided since the end of World War II, the incident has heightened sensitivities surrounding their representation at international events. South Korea's Olympic team, consisting of 143 athletes, is competing in 21 sports, while North Korea has sent a delegation of 16 athletes, marking its return to the Olympics after a hiatus since 2016.