South Korea's delegation sails on a boat in the River Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, July 26. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has published an apology to South Korea over the incorrect identification of the South Korean delegation during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

The IOC posted a statement on its website Sunday, noting the phone conversation between its president, Thomas Bach, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from the day before.

South Korea's presidential office had said Saturday evening in Seoul that Bach had called Yoon to apologize after South Korea was introduced as North Korea, in both French and English, during Friday's opening ceremony.

According to the IOC, Bach "apologized sincerely for the mistake in the audio broadcast" during the ceremony.

In this photo provided by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, second from right, president of the International Olympic Committee, speaks with Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Paris on July 27, to apologize for an incident during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in which South Korea was mistakenly introduced as North Korea. Yonhap

"The problem was identified as a human error, for which the IOC is deeply sorry," the statement read, adding that Bach was joined in the call by Etienne Thobois, CEO of the Paris organizing committee; Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services; and Lee Kee-heung, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and an IOC member.

"The IOC President took the opportunity to congratulate the President of the Republic of Korea on the country's first medal at these Games, which was a silver medal won by the 10-meter air rifle mixed team," the IOC added, referring to South Korea by its official designation.

Separately, the IOC sent an apology to the South Korean sports ministry. The letter was addressed to Yu In-chon, the sports minister; Jeong Gang-sun, chef de mission for South Korea in Paris; and Lee.

"The IOC would like to reiterate its sincerest and deepest apologies for the extremely regrettable mistakes that were made by the television commentators at the opening ceremony," the apology read. "Please be rest assured that the IOC is working with all its partners to make sure that such incident will not be repeated during the Olympic Games." (Yonhap)

This image, provided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, shows a letter of apology sent by the IOC to the ministry for mistakenly identifying South Korea as North Korea during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, July 28. Yonhap