Under pressure from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Korea Sports Council has decided to remove the 'General Admiral Yi Sun-sin' banner on the floor of the Korean athletes' residence in the Tokyo Olympic Athletes' Village apartment.
At the time of the Japanese Invasion of Korea, Admiral Yi Sun-sin had an idea from Admiral Yi Sun-sin's command to the king, 'Sang Yu Twelve Sun-Shin Immortality' We made a banner in Hangeul that reads, 'The support and support remain.'
However, when the Japanese media took issue with this as having political intentions, and even the far-right forces protested strongly by waving the Rising Sun flag, a symbol of Japanese imperialism, the ripples grew.
The Sports Council issued a press release on the 17th and said, "An IOC official visited the Republic of Korea team's office the day before and requested the banner to be removed. It has to be demolished,” he said.
In response, the Sports Council immediately explained to the IOC our position regarding the cheering banner and said that it strongly objected to the Rising Sun flag cheering in the stadium.
When the IOC promised to judge the use of the Rising Sun flag in all Olympic stadiums by applying Article 50 of the Olympic Charter, the Sports Council said that they had mutually agreed to remove the banner of Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
Article 50 of the IOC Olympic Charter stipulates that political, religious or racial propaganda is prohibited during the Olympic Games in any venue, including stadiums.
(Photo = Yonhap News)