S. Korea takes down controversial banner at athletes' village on IOC's request
대한체육회, 선수촌 내 '이순신 현수막' 결국 철거…욱일기 사용도 금지
Less than a week before the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games... South Korea's Olympic committee has agreed to take down controversial banners at the athletes' village in Tokyo... following a request by the IOC.
It said it agreed to do so... after the IOC pledged to request the removal of Japan's imperialistic Rising Sun Flag from Olympic sites and venues.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.
The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee has taken down banners featuring famous words from one of Korea's most revered historical figures, Admiral Yi Sun-sin... at its Olympic athletes' village in Tokyo... following a request from the International Olympic Committee.
Yi is known for maneuvering an undermanned fleet of a dozen vessels to take down hundreds of Japanese ships invading Korean waters during the Joseon Dynasty... and remains a symbol of solidarity for Koreans, especially when facing unfavorable conditions.
The Korean committee said an IOC official had visited its office to ask that the banners be removed... saying they're militaristic.
The IOC official had cited a violation of Article two, rule 50 in the Olympic Charter prohibiting political, religious, or racial propaganda in Olympic sites and venues.
The Korean committee said it agreed to take down the banners after the IOC pledged to apply the Olympic Charter and remove the Rising Sun Flag at venues that were formerly used by the Imperial Japanese Army... a reminder of Japan's militaristic and imperialistic past.
Japan had hoisted the flag when invading Asian nations in the late 19th century... and it continues to be used by extreme right-wing organizations that glorify Japan's colonial era.
Already, FIFA had banned the use of the Rising Sun Flag.
It's also prohibited in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
#Yi_SunSin_banner #Rising_Sun_Flag #Olympic_village
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2021-07-17 18:00 (KST)