U.S. CIA Continues to Misspell Roh’s Name

Since last year, the Korean embassy in Washington has requested the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to correct its English spelling of Korean President Roh Moo-hyun’s name from “No” to “Roh.” Yet, the CIA has not corrected it, the Korean embassy said on Sunday.

Currently, the CIA is using “No,” not “Roh” as Korean government demands, in its world yearbook, collection of information on world countries, and on the Internet homepage of the Ministry of Defense.

According to the U.S. code on naming foreign government personnel, “Except when the concerned person makes an official request for a change to a spelling he particularly wishes, naming will follow the U.S. government’s rule.” Based on this code, the U.S. should change the surname of the Korean president to “Roh.”

The Overseas Public Information Board of the Government Information Agency said last week that it will make another recommendation to the CIA regarding its continued misspelling of President Roh’s name.