JTBC Airs Japanese Flag Despite Korea's Win Over Japan in Curling, Says It "Deeply Apologizes for Staff's Error"

Rising Sun Flag Shown Despite Korea's Win
Controversy Continues Under JTBC's Exclusive Coverage

During JTBC's broadcast of the women's curling competition at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, the network apologized after displaying the Japanese flag on a commercial screen. The broadcaster explained that it was a mistake that occurred during a commercial break and pledged to prevent a recurrence.

On the 15th (local time), at the Cortina d'Ampezzo Curling Olympic Stadium in Italy, during the women's round-robin curling match between South Korea and Japan at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, South Korea's Seol Yeeun and Kim Minji are sweeping. Yonhap News

The incident occurred on the night of the 15th (Korean time) during a live broadcast of the fifth round-robin match between the South Korean and Japanese women's national curling teams. For about 10 seconds after the end of the fifth end, a graphic of the Japanese flag appeared on the commercial screen. The image had nothing to do with the content of the advertisement, and the caster immediately apologized just before the start of the sixth end.

On the 16th, JTBC stated on its official website, "A Japanese flag graphic was briefly displayed during the process of airing a commercial," adding, "We deeply apologize to viewers for the inconvenience caused by the production team's negligence." It continued, "We will strengthen our inspection and management systems to prevent a recurrence."

In this match, the South Korean national team, consisting of Kim Eunji (skip), Kim Minji (third), Kim Suji (second), Seol Yeeun (lead), and Seol Yeeji (fifth), defeated Japan 7-5 after a close game. With this victory, South Korea improved to 3 wins and 2 losses, tying Denmark for fourth place, while Japan remained in ninth place with 1 win and 4 losses. South Korea is scheduled to play its sixth game against China in the early hours of the 17th.

At the Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the Korean team is celebrating after defeating Japan 7-5 in a women's round-robin curling match at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Yonhap News

For this Olympics, JTBC holds exclusive broadcasting rights, and resale negotiations with the three terrestrial broadcasters fell through. As a result, coverage has been available only on JTBC and JTBC Sports, leading to controversy over restricted viewing rights for some events. On the 13th, when Choi Gaon of Sehwa Girls' High School won gold in the women's snowboard halfpipe, the moment was also delivered on the main channel only in the form of subtitles, sparking criticism.

At the time, JTBC explained, "Because the short-track competition attracted greater national interest, we switched it to the main broadcast, and the halfpipe coverage continued on JTBC Sports." However, viewers continued to express dissatisfaction, saying that "an important moment was only shown as subtitles."