Suspects sought over obstruction, search of youth team's belongings and assault on journalist

Protesters chant slogans outside the entrance of the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Friday, as demonstrations blocking the vote-counting center continue over a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]
Protesters chant slogans outside the entrance of the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Friday, as demonstrations blocking the vote-counting center continue over a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]

Police are moving quickly to investigate criminal activity linked to protests blocking the vote-counting center at the Jamsil handball arena, including an unauthorized break-in at the facility's basement.

The Seoul Songpa Police Station said Friday it had identified three suspects in connection with the unauthorized entry into the basement of the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium on June 7.

Police plan to summon the suspects for questioning to determine the exact circumstances of the incident and decide whether to charge them with property damage and trespassing.

The suspects are accused of breaking the lock on a mechanical room door in a basement corridor near Gates 1 through 3 between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on June 7 and filming the interior with their mobile phones.

A facility management employee on duty inside the arena spotted the intrusion on closed-circuit television footage and expelled the trespassers, according to Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, which manages the venue. The company filed a complaint against the suspects and welded the door shut on June 11.

A separate obstruction case — in which protesters blocked sports organizations under the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee from entering their offices at the handball arena — is under investigation, with nine people targeted in total. Police have confirmed the identities of two of them and issued summonses.

One of those identified is believed to be a woman referred to as "A," who alone blocked the sports organizations from entering on June 16.

Hard-line conservative online communities have celebrated her as "Oldarc," a portmanteau derived from "Olympic Park Joan of Arc."

Five people are under investigation for conducting an unauthorized search of the belongings of members of the women's youth national handball team.

Police have completed questioning one of the three identified suspects and plan to summon the remaining two.

Three suspects have been identified in connection with the assault on a JTBC journalist during the protest on June 5. Police have confirmed the identities of all three and issued summonses.


dingdong@heraldcorp.com