FM expresses regret over Pyongyang map appearing in P4G video

By Kim Rahn

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong has expressed regret over a video showing Pyongyang instead of Seoul in an introduction of the host country for the P4G Seoul Summit.

“I expressed deep regret over the blunder, which took place as the preparatory office failed to check it thoroughly,” Chung said, Tuesday, in a joint briefing of the foreign affairs and environment ministries on the two-day summit, which had ended the previous day.

“I was briefed that there was a mistake, as the video clip had been in the process of being edited, right down to the last minute.”

In the controversial video that was screened at the opening ceremony on Sunday to introduce the summit host city, a satellite image was shown of Pyongyang instead of Seoul. The camera then zoomed out to show the entire Korean Peninsula.

The opposition bloc has heavily criticized this error, with the conservative main opposition People Power Party calling it a “diplomatic disaster and international humiliation.”

“I believe that the video must have gone through numerous checks by the organizing staff, as well as rehearsals, so it is too suspicious to regard it as a mere mistake,” Rep. An Byung-gil said in a statement, Monday.

Minister Chung said the ministry will conduct a detailed investigation into how the mistake happened in order to prevent any such mistakes in the future, adding that the ministry changed the problematic part of the video immediately.