[Anchor]

However, the flag bearers who proudly held up the South Korean national flag, the Taegukgi, upon departure did not carry it upon arrival at the local destination. It turns out that local police blocked them from entering with the flag. Meanwhile, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who previously 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.

[Reporter]

The main contingent of the South Korean athletic delegation emerges through the arrival gate at Chubu Centrair International Airport, their battleground destination.

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

According to SBS coverage, it was confirmed that local police intervened and prevented 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, so we ultimately could not carry the flag," adding, "We were not given the exact reason for the restriction."

Except for the Tokyo Olympics, where the Taegukgi could not be carried due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our delegation has entered arrival halls carrying the Taegukgi at every Olympic and Asian Games.

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the mastermind behind the Japanese invasions of Korea, appeared at the cruise athletes' village event on September 15, causing controversy, the organizing committee stated yesterday that it would take measures to ensure similar incidents do not recur.

Yet, just a few 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."

This video was met with a continuous stream of comments from netizens across various Asian countries criticizing the organizing committee's management.

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 competition organizing committee, expressing regret and demanding the prevention of recurrence.

[Lee Sang-hyun / Head of the South Korean Delegation: While we respect local Japanese culture, it is regrettable that we wish there had been more consideration shown toward our delegation.]

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

(Reported by Choi Dae-woong | Video by Kim Ho-jin)