IOC Apologizes After South Korean Athletes Mistakenly Introduced as North Korean
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued an apology on Saturday following a significant blunder during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. As South Korean athletes paraded aboard a boat along the Seine River on Friday evening, the announcer mistakenly introduced them as representatives of the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the official name for North Korea. The error was made in both French and English, though the correct title was displayed in subtitles on the television broadcast.
The South Korean sports ministry responded to the incident by requesting a meeting between second vice sports minister Jang Mi-ran and IOC President Thomas Bach. The country’s foreign ministry also contacted the French embassy in Seoul, which expressed regret over what it called an “incomprehensible mistake.”
In response, the IOC issued a formal apology on its official Korean-language X account, acknowledging the error and extending deep apologies to South Korea. The opening ceremony, which featured performances by global stars Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, along with a flotilla of barges carrying over 6,000 Olympians, marked the beginning of the 33rd Olympic Games.
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