Paris Olympics: South Korea Wrongly Introduced As North Korea In Opening Ceremony

The 2024 edition of the Olympic Games is officially underway as Paris witnessed a spectacular opening ceremony on Friday. However, South Korea is unhappy as its athletes were mistakenly introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has issued an apology over the incident. 

As part of the opening ceremony, the parade of nations was held in the Seine. As the South Korean athletes waved their nation’s flag, the announcer introduced them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” – the official name of North Korea – in French and English. The announcer used the same introduction when North Korea's delegation passed. It is to be noted that the two nations have been divided since the end of World War II. Notably, the tensions between North Korea and South Korea have escalated recently. 

South Korea’s sports ministry expressed regret over the incident through a statement. According to a BBC report, the ministry also planned to lodge a "strong complaint with France on a government level." Moreover, South Korea's second vice sports minister, Jang Mi-ran also requested a meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, IOC released an apology on its official Korean-language X account. “We deeply apologise for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony," wrote IOC in the post.