[an official announcement] 'Kim Medal' Diffusion of Bad Taegeukgi Scandal 'Shock' → Eventually, the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee directly moved "On-site correction strongly requested, apologized... Promise for immediate action" [Mila] [Official announcement '金메달 medal' spread of defective Taegeukgi scandal 'shock' → eventually moved directly to the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee "On-site correction strongly requested, apologized... Promise for immediate action" Milan Olympics]

*This content was translated by AI.

At the moment of glory when South Korean athletes hung medals around their necks at the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, it was belatedly confirmed that the defective Korean national flag was raised, causing a stir.

The organizing committee confirmed that the angle of the central Taegeuk pattern of the Taegeukgi was tilted counterclockwise at the women's 3,000m relay ceremony at the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics held at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy on the 19th (Korea time).

It was also confirmed with the naked eye that the line separating red and blue in the central Taegeuk pattern of the Taegeukgi was not at the original position, but the left part was pressed about 15℃ overall, and the right part was raised.

On this day, the national flag went up slowly, hanging from the highest point of the podium. It was a moment when the national team, consisting of Choi Min-jeong, Kim Ki-li (Seongnam City Hall), Noh Do-hee (Hwasong City Hall), and Shim Suk-hee (Seoul City Hall), crossed the finish line with a time of 4:04:014 and the joy of winning the gold medal in eight years led to the award ceremony.

However, the Taegeukgi raised on the podium was different from the standard. The angle of the Taegeuk pattern in the center was remarkably inclined counterclockwise from its normal shape. The harmony of yin and yang, the core of the Taegeukgi, was twisted and sent to the world.

What is more shocking is that this 'rogue Taegeukgi' was not the first time to be caught in the women's 3,000m relay. It is known that the same problem has been repeated every time our athletes take the podium since the beginning of the Milan Olympic Games.

It is reported that the "rogue" Taegeukgi with the pattern was used at the men's short track 1,000m (Lim Jong-eon bronze) on the 13th, men's short track 1,500m (Hwang Dae-heon silver) on the 15th, and women's short track 1,000m (Kim Gili bronze) on the 16th. This can only be seen as a ridiculous mistake by the Olympic Organizing Committee, which did not carefully examine the shape of the Taegeukgi.

As the scandal grew, the Korean Sports Council immediately responded.

The Korean Olympic Committee said on the afternoon of the 20th, "The Korean athletes participating in the winter Olympics made an official complaint to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Organizing Committee (organizing committee) over the issue of raising the incorrectly produced Korean flag at the short track stadium awards ceremony, and requested immediate corrective action."

Immediately after recognizing the fact, the KOC reaffirmed the official flag standard data submitted in advance to the organizing committee. As a result, it was confirmed that the Taegeukgi, which was confirmed and approved at the general meeting (March 2025) and the final registration meeting (January 26, 2026), did not match the Taegeukgi used at the awards ceremony.

"In response, I immediately visited the IOC office and the organizing committee office in the athletes' village at the general affairs and outsourcing part of the Korean team, explained the difference between the incorrectly produced Taegeukgi and the official standard Taegeukgi, and strongly requested on-site correction. On the spot, the IOC and the organizing committee acknowledged the error and promised immediate action with an apology.

The KOC emphasized, "We sent an official letter in parallel with the on-site protest, ▲ an official apology ▲ measures to prevent recurrence at all remaining awards and related events ▲ We officially requested a full reconfirmation of the flag standards used at all venues."

In response, the IOC and the organizing committee responded, "We will immediately prepare the correct standard of Taegeukgi through reprinting and complete all necessary measures before the game proceeds."

The Korea Sports Association reiterated, "We emphasize that it is a basic and essential issue to accurately express the national symbol at the official Olympic event, and we will continue to take necessary measures to protect the rights and interests of the Korean team and the dignity of the national symbol in the future."

The short track team will now have the women's 1,500-meter individual and men's 5,000-meter relay races left on the 21st. If the South Korean team wins the remaining awards ceremony, the Korean national anthem is now expected to ring out along with the accurately produced Taegeukgi.

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*This content was translated by AI.