No Si-hwan of South Korea's baseball team departs through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Friday ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. [Newsis]
No Si-hwan of South Korea's baseball team departs through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Friday ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. [Newsis]

The South Korean national flag on the team uniform worn by No Si-hwan, captain of South Korea's baseball team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, was found to have been printed upside down. The manufacturer was responsible for the misprint, and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee promptly replaced the uniform.

South Korea's baseball team, led by Manager Ryu Ji-hyun, departed through Incheon International Airport on Friday bound for Nagoya.

All team members wore the official South Korean delegation uniform as they set off.

Photos circulating online revealed that the Taegukgi on the jacket worn by captain No Si-hwan had been printed inverted — not only the taegeuk symbol itself but also the positions of the four trigrams were upside down, sparking controversy.

South Korea's baseball team captain No Si-hwan (right) and other players arrive at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Japan on Friday ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. [Yonhap]
South Korea's baseball team captain No Si-hwan (right) and other players arrive at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Japan on Friday ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. [Yonhap]

A Korea Baseball Organization official said the flag on No's uniform appeared to have been printed upside down from the outset. "It was not that the player attached it incorrectly — the misprint occurred during the original manufacturing process," the official said.

The official added that the team would be issued a spare uniform if one was available, or a new one would be requested from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee if not.

No was not wearing the defective uniform when he arrived in Nagoya.

A Korean Sport & Olympic Committee official said the incident was caused by a manufacturing error. "The manufacturer apologized, and we were able to reissue a uniform from our spare supply," the official said.

Meanwhile, South Korea, seeking a fifth consecutive Asian Games gold medal in baseball, opens group-stage play against Taiwan on Monday.


choigo@heraldcorp.com