(LEAD) (Olympics) IOC chief to apologize to President Yoon over opening ceremony gaffe

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." Lee, one of three IOC members from South Korea, said the top Olympic body is "taking this incident seriously." "There have been instances where our national flag, Taegeukgi, was hung upside down, but having our country called North Korea in both English and French is so preposterous that I could never have imagined that," Lee said. "I asked the IOC and the Paris organizing committee to directly and sincerely apologize for this." Lee said he also asked South Korean coaches to make sure their athletes won't be affected by the incident, "since administration and competition are completely different things." Jang, the 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, expressed "tremendous regret as a South Korean person and as the vice minister of the relevant Cabinet ministry." "There shouldn't have been a mistake in such a sensitive area," Jang said. " Since we have three IOC members, I hope they will ensure against a recurrence of incidents of this nature." Jang and Lee are scheduled to meet with Bach and Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet in Paris at 5:30 p.m. Saturday (local time), or 12:30 a.m. Monday (South Korea time), to discuss the issue. Source: Yonhap News Agency