SEOUL, JULY 27: The International Olympic Committee apologised Saturday 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 apologise 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. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee said later Saturday that it had received a message from the IOC indicating that its chief, Thomas Bach, wished to directly apologise to the president of South Korea over the phone.
Earlier, 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". —AFP
