Police deployed 1,000 officers to secure ballot boxes; counting completed despite blockade

Protesters claiming election fraud demand a halt to vote counting outside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Friday, as counting proceeds for ballots from Jamsil 7-dong Polling Station No. 2 — the site of a nearly three-day standoff. [Yonhap]
Protesters claiming election fraud demand a halt to vote counting outside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Friday, as counting proceeds for ballots from Jamsil 7-dong Polling Station No. 2 — the site of a nearly three-day standoff. [Yonhap]

Demonstrators who had blockaded a polling station in Jamsil for nearly three days moved to the vote-counting venue Friday, swelling in numbers as the day wore on.

Police deployed roughly 1,000 officers to secure the ballot boxes and transport them to the counting venue, where tallying was completed. But protesters seized the entrances to the facility, trapping about 100 people inside — including election commission staff, facility workers and journalists.

By 5:40 p.m. Friday, approximately 2,000 people — among them citizens alleging election fraud and conservative-leaning YouTubers — had gathered outside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Seoul, blocking its entrances, according to an unofficial police estimate.

The crowd began assembling at the gymnasium around 9:30 a.m. after the ballot boxes were transported there. Numbers stood at around 300 by 11 a.m., climbed to 700 by 4:30 p.m., reached 1,200 by 5 p.m. and surged to 2,000 by 5:40 p.m.

The gymnasium has eight entrances across two floors, but protesters positioned themselves throughout the surrounding area, in effect sealing off the building entirely.

Access remained restricted for more than two hours after counting wrapped up around 3:20 p.m. Some staff members escaped through windows.

Protesters eventually allowed people to leave one by one after journalists and staff still inside persuaded them to do so, requiring individuals to verify their identity using business cards or ID documents. Those affiliated with progressive-leaning outlets were reportedly subjected to more stringent identity checks.

There are concerns that if the demonstration continues, it could disrupt performances scheduled for the weekend at the venue.

The Weverse Con Festival is set to take place Saturday and Sunday at the KSPO Dome and the 88 Lawn at Olympic Park, featuring groups ILLIT and Cotes, and bands Touched and QWER.

"As protesters surged toward all the entrances, it became hard to move people in or out," a police officer at the scene said.

Even after the completion of counting was announced, protesters refused to accept the results, chanting slogans such as "re-election" and "void the vote."

Calls to converge on Olympic Park spread through YouTube broadcasts and online chat rooms linked to election fraud claims, helping the crowd grow.

Jeon Han-gil, 56 — a YouTuber and former Korean history instructor whose real name is Jeon Yu-gwan — took up a megaphone and declared, "These local elections were fraudulent, so every election across the country is null and void."

Officials at the scene said they were considering options including evacuating election commission staff first, then separately removing vote-counting materials.

The standoff traces back to Jamsil 7-dong Polling Station No. 2, where ballots ran out on the day of the June 3 local elections, forcing an extension of voting hours.

Protesters then blockaded the station, vowing to prevent the ballot boxes from being removed. Two boxes containing ballots from roughly 2,000 voters were held up for about 35 hours before they could be transported to the counting venue.

Earlier Friday, police sent in about 1,000 officers from 18 riot units to disperse the demonstrators, secure the ballot boxes and transfer them for counting, which was subsequently completed.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com