Paris Olympics: South Korea regret, athletes introduced as North Korea at opening ceremony
- As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the ‘Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’
South Korea’s sports ministry on Saturday expressed regret over a gaffe during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in which its athletes were incorrectly introduced as North Korean.
As the South Korean delegation rode a boat on the Seine River and entered the ceremony as the 48th nation taking part, the French-speaking presenter introduced them using the official name for North Korea: “Republique populaire democratique de Coree” in French, then “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” in English.
The error sparked unhappy reactions in South Korea, a global cultural and technological powerhouse that is technically still at war with the nuclear-armed and impoverished North, as the 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
South Korea’s sports ministry “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,” it said in a statement.
Second vice sports minister Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, has asked for a meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach to discuss the matter, it added.
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