The organizing committee for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has officially apologized to the Korean Sports Council for various operational issues affecting the Korean delegation during the event.
According to the Korean Sports Council, the organizing committee sent a letter on October 6 from Chairman Hideo Omura, expressing regret over the delay in raising the South Korean flag during the men's soccer awards ceremony held on October 3 at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture.
South Korea won the gold medal by defeating Japan 1-0 in the final, but the flag was not raised properly until the national anthem had finished playing, causing a significant oversight.
The organizing committee explained that an internal investigation revealed that the on-site staff failed to properly check the knotting position of the flag-raising rope, which became caught on the pulley at the top of the flagpole. They acknowledged this as an operational error and apologized to the Korean delegation and the public for the distress caused.
Additionally, the committee issued an apology via official email for transportation and protocol issues that occurred throughout the event. They expressed regret that despite implementing improvements, the delegation continued to experience ongoing inconveniences.
This year's games have been marred by numerous issues related to athlete accommodations and transportation, attributed to the organizing committee's extreme cost-cutting measures.
The Korean delegation has also faced disruptions in training. For instance, the men's volleyball team, preparing for a group stage match against Taiwan on September 28, boarded a shuttle bus assigned by the organizing committee but was taken to the wrong location, resulting in a one-hour delay to reach their intended destination in Inuyama. Consequently, the team had to cancel their training session and return to their accommodations.
Similarly, the men's basketball team was unable to complete their morning training on September 20 due to a bus not arriving for their scheduled session before the final against Japan. The U-23 men's soccer team also faced issues on September 15, when their bus headed to a baseball field instead of the soccer stadium, disrupting their pre-match training, and the following day, no bus was provided at all. The baseball team had to hire an external bus due to unreliable shuttle services. In a separate incident, the North Korean national anthem was played instead of the South Korean anthem during a hockey match.
Yoo Seung-min, the president of the Sports Council, criticized the event's management, calling it the most protested competition in history. The Sports Council has sent multiple letters of complaint to the organizing committee.
The Sports Council stated, "We will comprehensively review the key issues related to the organizing committee's operations, including this official apology letter, and will continue to collaborate and advocate with international sports organizations to ensure that our athletes receive fair treatment and a smooth competitive environment in future international multi-sport events."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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