Paris 2024 Olympics: Presented as North Korea at the opening ceremony, South Korea protests and the IOC apologizes

La délégation Sud-coréenne lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture. MAXPPP – YONHAP

South Korea protested Saturday after a gaffe at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in which its athletes were mistakenly identified as North Koreans, prompting the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to apologize.

As the South Korean delegation arrived by boat on the Seine as the 48th participating nation, the presenters introduced it as the “Democratic People's Republic of Korea” in French and then “Democratic People's Republic of Korea” in English, using in both languages ​​the official name of North Korea, a country with which Seoul is still at war.

“Protest firmly” on this

South Korea's Sports Ministry "regrets the announcement made at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, during which the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team,", it said in a statement.

The South Korean delegation at the opening ceremony. XinHua – Guo Yu

Jang Mi-ran, vice sports minister and 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, has requested a meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach to discuss the matter.

The sports ministry also asked the foreign ministry to “firmly protest to the French side” over the matter.

IOC apologizes

The South Korean Olympic Committee also plans to meet with the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee and the IOC to express its protests, request measures to prevent a recurrence and send an official letter of protest on behalf of its head of delegation, the sports ministry said.

“We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred during the introduction of the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,”, the IOC wrote on the Korean-language social network X.

During the ceremony, North Korea was correctly introduced with its official name. South Korea is still technically at war with the North, after a conflict between 1950 and 1953 that ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Relations between the two border countries are at their lowest in years, as Pyongyang has moved to strengthen its military ties with Russia and has been sending thousands of balloons loaded with garbage toward the North for several months. South.

In response, Seoul's military has been blasting K-pop and anti-Kim Jong Un messages over loudspeakers across the border and has recently resumed live-fire drills on border islands and near the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean Peninsula.