About 2,700 at scene by 6 p.m.; protesters stream in after work and school
A rally at Olympic Park protesting a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections stretched into its fourth consecutive night, with nearly 3,000 people demanding a re-election well into the late hours as office workers in business attire joined after their shifts.
Around 9 p.m. Monday, demonstrators gathered in front of the handball stadium at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, relying on the park's facility lighting as they chanted "fraudulent election — hold a re-election" in the dark.
Volunteers guided the crowd with light batons, while others worked under lamps without pause, drawing South Korean flags on paper and handing them out to participants.
Police informally estimated about 2,700 people at the site around 6 p.m. that day, and the crowd continued to grow. After the evening rush hour, office workers in suits and work clothes poured out of Olympic Park Station and made their way to the rally.
Lee, a 36-year-old who stood awkwardly among the crowd without joining the chants, said it was his first time attending a protest. "I came so I won't be ashamed in front of my daughter," he said. "I skipped dinner and came straight here after work from Ilsan."
"It's outrageous that basic rights are being stripped away," he added. "I came because I thought that if things keep going this way, our children will face serious problems in the future."
Office workers were not the only ones arriving after finishing their daytime schedules. Park, a 24-year-old junior at Yonsei University, attended classes during the day before heading to the rally in the evening. "I came because I think opinions only get heard when a lot of people gather," he said.
Park described the mood on campus as broadly sympathetic. "There are some dissenting voices on the school's online community, but most people around me share a strong sense that citizens' basic rights have not been protected," he said.
Another office worker, Ahn, 30, said he had been checking news from the rally throughout the day. "I was worried the momentum would fizzle out, so I came straight after work," he said. "As long as the rally continues, I plan to come every evening."
While the evening atmosphere was relatively calm, tensions flared earlier in the day. Around 4 p.m., a protester wearing a mask resembling a Japanese anime character drew suspicion from the crowd. Some shouted without basis that the person was a member of Daejinyeon — the Progressive University Students' Alliance — and chased them away. Dozens surrounded the suspect, and the scene turned threatening, with some hurling insults at the person's family, before nearby police stepped in to prevent further confrontation.
Earlier Monday morning, members of the women's youth national handball team ran into trouble when they came to the stadium to retrieve training equipment. The players had been scheduled to train ahead of the World Championship on June 24, but have struggled to practice since protesters sealed off the handball stadium.
As the players tried to collect their gear to train at nearby Korea National Sport University, protesters blocked their path. Voices in the crowd clashed — some saying "let the players through," others insisting on inspecting the equipment — and the scene turned threatening.
The rally against the ballot shortage has now continued for four days. Inside the stadium, around 380 ballot boxes from Songpa-gu along with the ballots themselves remain untouched following the completion of vote counting. Election commission staff have all withdrawn from the site.
Police deployed approximately 350 riot officers as of Monday to prepare for any unexpected incidents.
20ki@heraldcorp.com
