Civic group files complaint against Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung and senior police officials

Protesters calling for a re-election gather in front of the handball arena at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Sunday, the third consecutive day of demonstrations denouncing a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections and demanding the results be nullified. [Yonhap]
Protesters calling for a re-election gather in front of the handball arena at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Sunday, the third consecutive day of demonstrations denouncing a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections and demanding the results be nullified. [Yonhap]

Protests demanding a re-election over a ballot shortage have entered their third consecutive day, with a civic group filing a formal complaint against senior police officials over what it called excessive force during dispersal operations.

As of 5 p.m. Sunday, an unofficial police estimate put the crowd at around 13,300 near the handball arena at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

Demonstrators gathered at each of the eight entrances to the vote-counting venue, monitoring the removal of ballot boxes and chanting "re-election." They say the ballot shortage on election day during the June 3 local elections violated their right to vote.

Protesters have also taken issue with police forcibly dispersing the crowd during the removal of ballot boxes. The conservative civic group Seomin Minsaeng Daechaek Committee filed a complaint Sunday with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung, acting Korean National Police Agency chief Yoo Jae-sung, Seoul Police Commissioner Park Jeong-bo, other senior officers and on-scene police on charges including abuse of authority.

Police have deployed 350 officers, including six riot companies, to prepare for any contingencies.

Meanwhile, speculation is spreading that police could move to forcibly disperse the crowd in the early hours of Monday or during the morning rush hour, putting protesters on high alert as many prepare to stay through the night.


siuu@heraldcorp.com