Protesters regroup at Olympic Park
'Re-election, no matter what' repeated
Officials entering venue subjected to checks
The fallout from an unprecedented ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections continues to reverberate. Protesters who had been demanding the results be nullified outside a polling station in Jamsil have now descended on the vote-counting site, keeping up their chants.
Around 2 p.m. Friday, roughly 500 demonstrators gathered outside the handball arena at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul — where ballots are being counted — repeatedly demanding a re-election. Earlier that morning, police had secured two ballot boxes from the Jamsil 7-dong polling station and brought them to the arena for a delayed count.
Once the ballot boxes were transferred to the counting site, the protest appeared to intensify. Suspicious of fraud — including fears that votes could be removed or added during the count — demonstrators began stopping and questioning people entering and leaving the arena.
Protesters shouted "re-election" at anyone coming out of the venue, regardless of whether they were election officials. When one arena worker kept walking with eyes shut tight, the crowd turned threatening, chanting "go back inside."
Workers with no connection to the election were also caught up in the chaos. Employees of an outside contractor responsible for information security at the arena were blocked by protesters and had to show their business cards and explain they had "nothing whatsoever to do with the election commission" before they were allowed to leave.
Jo, an employee of the contractor, said the team had been on site since before the count began, carrying out information security work, when protesters ordered them to leave. "We're not election commission staff, but they kept stopping us on the way out — it was really embarrassing," he said.
Just a short distance away, preparations were underway for the 2026 Weverse Con Festival, scheduled for Saturday. The event site was close enough that the sound of protest loudspeakers carried clearly. One festival official said protesters had demanded rehearsals be halted, telling organizers, "What are you doing blasting music when the country is in this state?" Another official said a food delivery order had been disrupted because delivery riders could not get through the crowd and had to take a long detour, throwing the schedule off.
Injuries mount as protest swells
As the protest grew, so did the number of injuries. The Songpa fire department said seven people were treated for protest-related injuries in Songpa-gu on Friday.
Five patients were reported at the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong and two at the handball arena. Their conditions ranged from headaches, breathing difficulties, dizziness and stomach pain to minor injuries including forehead abrasions and ankle pain.
Several opposition figures also appeared at the scene. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and Assembly members Kim Eun-hye and Ju Jin-woo visited the counting site to observe the proceedings and requested a meeting with election commission officials. Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty and Innovation Party, who has been raising allegations of election fraud, also joined the protesters.
Earlier Friday morning, a three-day sit-in at the No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong was dispersed after police moved in. More than 1,000 officers from 18 riot control units cleared the demonstrators, entered the polling station and secured the ballot boxes.
20ki@heraldcorp.com
