Controversy Over COP28 Website
South Korean Flag Displayed as Artificial Flag... Removed After Nearly a Week
It was recently revealed that the official website of the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), which is discussing measures to respond to the climate crisis, mistakenly displayed North Korea's flag (the in'gonggi) instead of South Korea's flag, the Taegukgi. COP28 did not correct this error for about a week after the opening, and only removed the flags and left the list of countries after controversy arose.
According to Yonhap News and others on the 6th, the COP28 website operated by the UAE posted a list of 38 countries participating in the "Mutual Recognition Declaration on Hydrogen Certification Systems," and mistakenly displayed North Korea's in'gonggi next to South Korea (Republic of Korea) instead of the Taegukgi.
The in'gonggi remained for nearly a week and was only removed on the 6th. As of 4 p.m. on the 6th, the English name for South Korea on the website was changed from "South Korea" to "Republic of Korea (ROK)," and the flag images next to the countries had disappeared. The flag images were removed not only for South Korea but for other countries as well.
The South Korean flag is incorrectly displayed as the Japanese flag on the homepage of the 28th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties. [Photo by COP28 homepage capture]
COP28 is the world's largest international climate conference held to discuss concrete implementation measures to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. This year, it opened on the 30th of last month in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and is scheduled to continue for two weeks until the 12th of this month.
It is a large-scale event with participation from 198 countries worldwide every year. This year, major South Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics and POSCO, along with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, visited Dubai in person.
A Foreign Ministry official told Yonhap News, "We immediately recognized this issue and officially protested to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the chair country, and the COP28 chair office, demanding immediate correction." He added, "Currently, the chair country has removed all flags of participating countries. The UAE stated that this mistake is 'unacceptable' and promised to investigate the circumstances and inform the Korean side."
There have been past incidents of mistakenly displaying the Taegukgi and the in'gonggi at international events. In 2008, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) caused controversy by displaying the in'gonggi instead of the Taegukgi on its official website while explaining South Korea's past Asian Cup hosting. Conversely, in 2012, the London Olympic Organizing Committee displayed the Taegukgi instead of the in'gonggi when introducing North Korean players during a women's soccer match between North Korea and Colombia, leading to strong protests and North Korean players refusing to enter the stadium.
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