Heba Presse – Agencies
South Korea has expressed regret over the presentation of its sports delegation participating in the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris on Friday as representing its northern neighbor, and demanded assurances from organizers that the mistake will not be repeated.
As the boat carrying the South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” which is the official name of North Korea in French and English.
The channel also used the same formula during the visit of the North Korean delegation.
A statement released by the Ministry of Sports and Culture said that Vice Minister of Sports and Culture Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, requested a meeting with Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.
The statement also said: “We regret that the country was introduced as North Korea during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when athletes from the Republic of Korea entered.”
The South Korean National Olympic Committee immediately reported the incident to the Paris Games organizers and requested that the mistake not be repeated.
