Canada’s public broadcaster, CBC, has issued multiple corrections after repeatedly misidentifying South Korean athletes as Chinese during coverage of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The errors, initially flagged by Professor Seo Kyung-deok on February 15th, prompted an official acknowledgement and correction from CBC on February 16th.
The first misidentification involved short track speed skater Choi Min-jeong, a prominent figure in the Korean national team, during the 2000m mixed relay event on February 11th. CBC subsequently misidentified speed skater Gu Gyeong-min, who competed in the men’s 1000m event on February 12th, as Chinese. Professor Seo Kyung-deok initially brought the issue to public attention via his social media channels, noting a pattern of Korean athletes being incorrectly labeled as representing China in various broadcasts.
The third correction concerned skeleton racer Hong Soo-jeong, who competed in the third and fourth rounds of the women’s skeleton event on February 15th. CBC acknowledged misrepresenting her nationality in its official correction. Hong Soo-jeong gained recognition for her skeleton helmet featuring a traditional Korean tiger design. She finished 22nd in the individual skeleton competition with a time of 3 minutes 54.73 seconds and 11th in the mixed team event, achieving a time of 2 minutes 01.45 seconds.
CBC’s corrections were published in the ‘Corrections and clarifications’ section of the sports section of its official website. The broadcaster stated it “misrepresented” the nationalities of the athletes. Professor Seo Kyung-deok had previously observed that the misidentifications extended beyond short track and speed skating, encompassing other sports as well.
Hong Soo-jeong’s performance in the mixed team skeleton event, a newly introduced competition at the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Games, saw her team arrive close to achieving a top-10 finish. Following her final run, Hong Soo-jeong was seen bowing deeply towards the camera, a gesture that resonated with Korean fans.