International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach will speak to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday to apologize over an incorrect introduction of the South Korea delegation as North Korea during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
Lee Kee-heung, head of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee and an IOC member, and Jang Mi-ran, second vice minister of sports, made the announcement at a press conference in Paris on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the incident, saying Bach was to call Yoon at 8 p.m. Saturday in South Korea.
As the South Korean team floated down the Seine River during Friday’s opening ceremony, the French-speaking announcer introduced the delegation as “Republique populaire democratique de Coree,” followed by the English announcement of “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” Both are official names for North Korea.
Lee and Jang said the IOC also plans to issue an official written apology.
During an IOC press briefing earlier Saturday, IOC spokesperson M
ark Adams said: “We apologize wholeheartedly. An operational mistake was made. We can only apologize, in an evening of so many moving parts, that this mistake was made.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency