Both French and English commentators referred to the enthusiastic, flag-waving crew as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”—the formal name of North Korea—as they floated down the Seine River.
Then, when a delegation from North Korea floated by, they used the exact same name.
Since the end of World War Two, the two Koreas have been split, and recently, tensions between the governments have increased even more.
However, the right title was displayed in the subtitle that ran across the bottom of the television program.
Regarding the embarrassing blunder, the South Korean ministry of sports announced that it will be filing a “strong complaint with France on a government level.”.
“Regret over the announcement… where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement also stated that Olympic weightlifting champion Jang Mi-ran, the second vice sports minister, had asked to meet with Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
In an apology posted on its official Korean-language X account, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said, “We would like to offer a deep apology over the mistake that occurred in the introduction of the South Korean delegation during the opening ceremony.”
