International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has apologized for referring to the Republic of Korea as “North Korea” during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Bach apologized during a 10-minute phone call with President Yun Seok-yeol at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday. During the call, President Yun expressed his regret to Mr. Bach, saying, “As a country that hosted the Summer and Winter Olympics and the World Cup, the people of South Korea were surprised and embarrassed by what happened,” according to the presidential office.
“He asked Bach to apologize for the incident through various media and social media and to prevent its recurrence,” Yun said, adding, ”I hope that the remaining Olympic events will be successful and become a true global festival.”
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has apologized for referring to the Republic of Korea as “North Korea” during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Bach apologized during a 10-minute phone call with President Yun Seok-yeol at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday. During the call, President Yun expressed his regret to Mr. Bach, saying, “As a country that hosted the Summer and Winter Olympics and the World Cup, the people of South Korea were surprised and embarrassed by what happened,” according to the presidential office.
“He asked Bach to apologize for the incident through various media and social media and to prevent its recurrence,” Yun said, adding, ”I hope that the remaining Olympic events will be successful and become a true global festival.”
The announcer in the main hall introduced South Korea as “Republique populaire democratique de coree” in French and repeated it in English as “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” both of which refer to North Korea.
In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said on Nov. 27 that “Vice Minister Jang Jae-ran requested a meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach in Paris, France,” and that “Vice Minister Jang asked Jeong Kang-sun, the 토토사이트 head of the Korean athletes’ team, to take immediate action against the IOC and the organizers of the Paris Olympics.”
“As soon as the Korean athletes were misrepresented, the Korean Sports Federation requested the Paris Organizing Committee not to repeat the incident and sent an official protest letter in the name of the head of the team,” the ministry said.
The IOC also responded on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, saying, “We deeply apologize for the mistake made during the introduction of the Korean athletes during the opening ceremony broadcast.”
IOC President Thomas Bach apologized directly to President Yun over the phone, and it was reported that Yun expressed his deep regret during the call.
“I express my deepest regret as an individual, as a citizen and as a vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism,” said Jang Jang-ran, Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, adding that ”mistakes should not be made in such sensitive matters.” “As there are three IOC members in Korea, I hope that you will take active measures to prevent this from happening again,” he said.
Vice Minister Jang Jang-ran and Korean Sports Federation President Lee Ki-heung will hold a four-way meeting with Bach and Paris Organizing Committee President Tony Estingué at 12:30 a.m. on the 28th of this month at the Paris Mocher to hear an official apology from the IOC and Paris Organizing Committee and to urge them to prevent a recurrence.