Olympic organisers have issued a “deep apology” after South Korea’s athletes had been mistakenly launched as North Korea on the opening ceremony in Paris.
Because the excited, flag-waving workforce floated down the River Seine, each French and English announcers launched them because the “Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea” – the official title of North Korea.
The identical title was then used – accurately – when North Korea’s delegation sailed previous.
The 2 Koreas have been divided because the finish of World Warfare Two, with tensions between the states additional escalating lately.
The subtitle which ran throughout the underside of the tv broadcast confirmed the proper title, nevertheless.
The South Korean sports activities ministry stated it deliberate to lodge a “robust criticism with France on a authorities degree” over the embarrassing gaffe.
In a press release, the ministry expressed “remorse over the announcement… the place the South Korean delegation was launched because the North Korean workforce.”
The assertion added that the second vice sports activities minister, Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, had demanded a gathering with Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
The Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) issued an apology on its official Korean-language X account, saying: “We wish to supply a deep apology over the error that occurred within the introduction of the South Korean delegation through the opening ceremony.”
South Korea, formally often known as the Republic of Korea, has 143 athletes in its Olympic workforce this yr, competing throughout 21 sports activities.
North Korea has despatched 16 athletes. That is the primary time it has competed within the video games since Rio 2016.
