![Young handball players retrieve balls and training equipment from the handball arena at Olympic Park in Seoul on Monday, the day after the venue served as a ballot-counting site for the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/09/news-p.v1.20260609.ac68f6ad8aa64b7d98cf6d0137964c4f_P1.jpg)
Police have warned of a firm response after some protesters blockading a ballot-counting site in Jamsil began searching the belongings of civilians amid the controversy over a ballot paper shortage during the June 3 local elections.
The warning follows incidents at the handball arena inside Seoul Olympic Park, which served as a counting site, where some demonstrators searched the bags of young female national handball team players who had come to retrieve training equipment on Monday, and assaulted and verbally abused reporters from progressive-leaning outlets.
The Korean National Police Agency said Tuesday it had increased the number of dialogue officers at the scene and deployed Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency commanders on the ground. "Regrettable incidents have occurred in which some participants are obstructing the movement of law-abiding citizens or searching other people's belongings without legal authority," the agency said in a press notice.
Six members of the women's youth national handball team arrived at gates 1 through 5 of the arena at around 10 a.m. Monday and asked for the doors to be opened, but protesters blocked the entrance and demanded to inspect their belongings. One demonstrator told a female player she should also remove her socks before police intervened.
The agency also warned that it would "take strict action against clear illegal acts — including assault, defamation and coercion — targeting citizens, journalists, police and fire department personnel."
The agency said it would "respect and actively protect legitimate expressions of opinion, which are fundamental constitutional rights," and pledged to guarantee protest activities that do not cross into illegal conduct.
It added that it "clearly recognizes that the ballot paper shortage is a grave matter directly linked to the infringement of suffrage — the core of popular sovereignty — and that the free expression of ordinary citizens is also a fundamental right that must naturally be protected and respected."
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