South Korean Athletes Blocked from Carrying Taegukgi... Controversy Mounts Over Social Media Video

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However, the flag bearers, who proudly held the South Korean national flag high upon departure, did not carry the flag upon arriving locally. It turns out that local police blocked them from entering with the flag. Furthermore, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who sparked public outrage by appearing at the athletes' village welcoming event, has now appeared on the organizing committee's official social media.

Reporter Han Sung-hee has the story from the location.

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The main contingent of the South Korean athletic delegation arrives at the arrival hall of Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya, their battleground.

Unlike their departure from Incheon Airport, however, the national flag is nowhere to be seen in the hands of flag bearers Shin Yu-bin and Seo Seung-jae.

According to SBS reporting, it was confirmed that local police intervened and stopped them from carrying the flag.

An official from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee stated, "Our officials stepped in and lodged a strong protest, but the local police refused to back down, and in the end, we couldn't carry the flag," adding, "We were not given the exact reason for the restriction."

With the exception of the Tokyo Olympics, where flags could not be carried due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our delegation has always entered the arrival hall carrying the national flag at every Olympics and Asian Games.

After controversy arose when Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the mastermind behind the Japanese invasions of Korea, appeared at the cruise athletes' village event on the 15th, the organizing committee issued a statement yesterday indicating that similar incidents would be prevented from recurring in the future.

However, mere hours later last night, a video featuring Toyotomi was brazenly uploaded to the official social media account operated by the organizing committee.


The post even included the caption, "We brought their burning passion and powerful words to prepare for the sports festival."

Comments from netizens across Asian countries criticizing the organizing committee's operations flooded the post.

Yesterday, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee sent a letter under the name of President Yoo Seung-min to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the event's organizing committee, expressing regret and demanding measures to prevent a recurrence.

[Lee Sang-hyun / Head of the South Korean Delegation: While we respect Japan's local culture, it is regrettable that we hope to see a bit more consideration shown toward our delegation.]

A sports festival meant to foster harmony in Asia is being marred even before its start by incidents that offend participating countries.

(Video reporting: Choi Dae-woong, Video editing: Kim Ho-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.