Asian Games 2026: Aichi-Nagoya Organisers Apologise After North Korean Anthem Played During South Korea Hockey Match

Nagoya (Japan): The organising committee of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has apologized for mistakenly playing the North Korean anthem at a South Korean hockey match, the South Korean sports governing body said Saturday.

Before the men's Pool A match against Bangladesh at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Gifu, Japan, on Friday, the North Korean anthem was played instead of South Korea's, reported Yonhap.

The match organizers then played Bangladesh's anthem before playing the South Korean anthem later.

Right after the incident, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) lodged an official complaint with the organizing committee over the anthem mix-up, demanding an official apology and prevention of a recurrence.

"Around 9 p.m. later that day, two officials from the Asian Games organizing committee visited the South Korean team office and offered an official apology for the error in playing the anthem," the KSOC said in a release.

KSOC President Ryu Seung-min said the KSOC will keep making efforts to help South Korean athletes focus entirely on their competitions without being distracted by issues unrelated to the games.

"It is absolutely unacceptable for the national anthem, a symbol of our nation, to be performed incorrectly at an international multisport event, and we view this matter with the utmost seriousness," Ryu said.

"We will continue to demand that the organizing committee thoroughly investigate the cause of this incident and implement measures to prevent its recurrence."

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