Olympics organizers have issued a heartfelt apology to South Korea after a “human error” led to its 143 athletes being mistakenly introduced as North Koreans during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The accident happened on Friday while South Korean sportsmen were making their river cruise down the Seine aboard a boat. They were mistakenly labeled as coming from the “People’s Democratic Republic of Korea,” which is North Korea’s official name, in both French and English announcements. The official name of South Korea is the “Republic of Korea.”
This error is particularly sensitive given the historical and ongoing tensions between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), personally apologized to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in a phone call on Sunday. “In this telephone call, the IOC President apologized sincerely for the mistake in the audio broadcast of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, in which the team of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Korea was wrongly identified,” read a statement from the IOC. “The problem was identified as a human error, for which the IOC is deeply sorry.”
The apology followed an immediate response from the IOC on its official Korean-language account on X, formerly known as Twitter. At a press conference on Saturday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams described the incident as “clearly deeply regrettable” and offered a wholehearted apology.
South Korea’s Sports Ministry expressed regret over the introduction mistake, highlighting the importance of accurate representation at such a significant global event. The 143 South Korean athletes are competing in 21 events at the Paris Games, while North Korea has sent 16 athletes after skipping the 2020 Tokyo Olympics over COVID-19 concerns and subsequently being banned from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been high recently, exacerbated by incidents involving balloons. North Korea sent thousands of garbage-laden balloons into South Korea, some of which landed on the grounds of the presidential compound in Seoul. Pyongyang has stated that these actions were in response to a civilian campaign in South Korea to float balloons carrying anti-North Korean propaganda across the border.
The error at the Olympics has been a stark reminder of the delicate political sensitivities between the two nations. As the games continue, all eyes are on how both the athletes and organizers will move forward from this incident.
