Bach, IOC President, "I Will Apologize to President Yoon for Opening Ceremony Accident" [Paris Olympics]

Korean Team Introduced as North Korea
Apology to President Yoon via Phone Call

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach will call President Yoon Suk-yeol at 8 p.m. on the 27th to personally apologize for the incident that occurred during the introduction of the South Korean delegation at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics the previous day.

Thomas Bach, IOC President, is delivering the opening speech at the opening ceremony held at Trocadero Square in Paris, France, on the 26th, the opening day of the 2024 Paris Olympics (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee stated that "the IOC Secretary General conveyed that President Bach, in the presence of IOC member Lee Ki-heung, expressed his desire to personally apologize to President Yoon via phone for referring to South Korea by the name of North Korea in both English and French during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony."

They also added that the IOC will issue an official apology statement to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

At the opening ceremony held on the 26th (local time) along the Seine River in Paris, France, the announcer mistakenly introduced the South Korean delegation as North Korea, drawing significant criticism. The announcer introduced South Korea in French as 'R?publique populaire d?mocratique de Cor?e' and repeated in English as 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea.' Both terms refer to North Korea in French and English, respectively. The official name of South Korea is 'R?publique de Cor?e' in French and 'Republic of Korea' in English.

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee immediately raised the issue with the Paris Organizing Committee upon recognizing the situation.

Subsequently, the IOC posted on its Korean SNS account, "We deeply apologize for the mistake made during the introduction of the Republic of Korea delegation in the broadcast of the opening ceremony."