French broadcaster faces criticism after using wrong Korean flag similar to Japanese flag

French broadcaster LCI uses the wrong South Korean flag with a red circle in the middle, which resembles the Japanese national flag, to introduce South Korea on Sunday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A French news channel is facing criticism in Korea after using a flag that resembles the Japanese national flag to introduce South Korea.

The broadcaster, LCI, on Sunday, mentioned inter-Korea relations while reporting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's comments at a Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea meeting on Saturday.

LCI, however, used a flag with a red circle in the middle instead of the original South Korean flag's red and blue Taegeuk symbol, resembling the Japanese flag except for its trigrams.

The video has been uploaded on YouTube and has gained over 125,000 views as of Tuesday.

In the comments section, Korean YouTube users expressed regret and asked LCI to change the image.

"This is like editing a Nazi symbol onto the French flag. It's historically offensive," one comment said.

"It's impossible to even find such an image with just a red circle. Have they made that on purpose?" another comment read.

"Do you realize the big mistake you made in displaying the South Korean flag? It's really huge, especially when you know the history between South Korea and Japan," a comment in French read.

"The South Korean flag is supposed to be a mix of red and blue. The flag reference in the video is wrong and diplomatically disrespectful," another said in English.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]