Asian Games Organizers Face Scrutiny After South Korea Misidentified
A series of errors at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has drawn complaints from South Korea and other delegations, including a medal-ceremony misidentification, the playing of North Korea’s anthem and repeated transport and lodging disruptions.
Organizers of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are facing growing scrutiny after a series of operational errors affected South Korea and other national delegations, raising concerns about event management during the opening days of the competition.
At a modern pentathlon medal ceremony on Sunday, South Korea was mistakenly introduced as the Republic of China before the announcement was corrected. The error followed an incident during a men’s hockey match between South Korea and Bangladesh on Sept. 18, when North Korea’s national anthem was played in place of South Korea’s.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee lodged a formal protest over the anthem mistake, and the organizing committee later apologized. The two errors involving South Korea’s national identity have intensified attention on a broader pattern of logistical problems reported at the Games.
Transportation disruptions have also affected athletes. South Korea’s men’s basketball team canceled a morning practice before the Sept. 20 final because of a vehicle dispatch problem. The Chinese delegation was also reportedly left waiting at an airport for hours, while transport failures have been occurring multiple times a day.
Accommodation has become another source of complaints. Rather than operating a single, purpose-built athletes’ village, organizers have used large cruise ships and other dispersed lodging facilities. Delegations have reported delayed check-ins and difficulties assigning rooms, complicating preparations for athletes and team officials.
Omi Takaaki, a deputy secretary-general of the organizing committee, apologized for the human errors and said improvement measures were being introduced daily. He maintained that the problems had not affected competition itself. Organizers also attributed some transport and accommodation delays to late emergency requests and incomplete documents submitted by delegations.
The event’s staffing model has come under examination as well. Major advertising agencies with experience managing large international events were not involved following corruption controversies connected to the Tokyo Olympics. That left the Games more dependent on personnel with limited experience in handling an event of this scale. Omi acknowledged that inexperience may have contributed to human error.
The incidents place added pressure on organizers to strengthen identity checks, transport coordination and lodging procedures while competition is underway. For South Korea, the immediate concern is ensuring that athletes can focus on their events without further mistakes involving national symbols or interruptions to training schedules.