South Korea's delegation, including team chief Lee Sang-hyun and table tennis player Shin Yu-bin, departs from Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Thursday, bound for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. [Yonhap]
South Korea's delegation, including team chief Lee Sang-hyun and table tennis player Shin Yu-bin, departs from Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Thursday, bound for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. [Yonhap]

Japanese police blocked members of South Korea's delegation from carrying the national flag as they arrived Thursday at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Tokoname, near Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

The main contingent of 122 athletes and officials, led by Team Chief Lee Sang-hyun, entered Japan through the airport that afternoon.

Table tennis player Shin Yu-bin and badminton player Seo Seung-jae had carried a flagpole-mounted Taegukgi at Incheon International Airport earlier that morning and had planned to do the same upon arrival in Japan.

Local police, however, citing airport security concerns, prevented them from carrying the flag into the arrivals hall.

A Korean Sport & Olympic Committee official strongly protested the decision, but police did not back down.

The incident came after a separate controversy Tuesday, when a performer portraying Toyotomi Hideyoshi — the feudal warlord who launched the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s — appeared at a welcoming ceremony at the athletes' village.

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games organizing committee said the performance by the "Nagoya Omotenashi Bushotai" at a port arrival event was intended to introduce the local culture and tourism of the host region. "The performance was not intended to endorse any specific historical figure or convey any historical message," it said.

A Korean Sport & Olympic Committee official said the organization became aware of the situation at the cruise ship athletes' village ceremony and sent a letter to the Olympic Council of Asia and the organizing committee on Thursday, under the name of KSOC President Yoo Seung-min, demanding an immediate expression of regret and measures to prevent a recurrence.

After arriving in Nagoya, Team Chief Lee addressed the Toyotomi Hideyoshi controversy. "Local Japanese culture is important, but I also feel a sense of regret that there was not more consideration shown for our delegation," he said.

He added that the delegation would make its position clear on political issues interfering with sport. "Our team will compete with an unwavering will to win, so that the Taegukgi can fly even higher in Nagoya," Lee said.

The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games open Saturday and run through Oct. 4. South Korea has sent a delegation of 1,051 people, including athletes and officials, across 41 sports.


min3654@heraldcorp.com