An incident has surfaced during the short track awards ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where a Taegukgi, the national flag of South Korea, was incorrectly displayed. The angle of the central Taeguk pattern on the flag was tilted counterclockwise, which does not conform to the proper representation of the flag. This occurred during the women's 3000-meter relay medal presentation held on February 19, and it has sparked concerns among officials and citizens regarding the appropriate representation of the national flag in international events.

The South Korean team comprising athletes Minjeong Choi, Kiri Kim, Dohee Noh, Seokhee Shim, and Soyoun Lee won the event, securing the gold medal despite the mishap with the flag. Reports indicate that this erroneous flag was also used in previous medal ceremonies, including those for the men's 1000m, men's 1500m, and women's 1000m competitions, all held in the same venue in Milan earlier in February. This raises questions about the oversight in the production and display processes for such significant national symbols.

A representative from the Korean Sports Association stated that they had submitted the correct flag file to the organizing committee and confirmed its specifications during preliminary meetings. However, the representative suggested that there may have been a printing error when the organizing committee produced the flag for the ceremony. Adjustments and responses from the Sports Association regarding this issue are currently under consideration, highlighting the importance of national symbols in global sporting events.