Kim Beom-jin, secretary general of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, is blocked by citizens preventing the removal of ballot boxes as he attempts to enter the second polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on June 4. Voting hours at the station had been extended to 10 p.m. the previous day due to a ballot shortage during the ninth nationwide simultaneous local elections and National Assembly by-elections, leaving ballot boxes unable to be transferred to the counting center. [Yonhap]
Kim Beom-jin, secretary general of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, is blocked by citizens preventing the removal of ballot boxes as he attempts to enter the second polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on June 4. Voting hours at the station had been extended to 10 p.m. the previous day due to a ballot shortage during the ninth nationwide simultaneous local elections and National Assembly by-elections, leaving ballot boxes unable to be transferred to the counting center. [Yonhap]

Kim Beom-jin, secretary general of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission, visited the site of an ongoing protest blockade at the Jamsil counting center on Friday morning but left shortly after arriving.

Kim arrived at around 9 a.m. at the handball arena gate inside Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where protesters have been occupying the entrance, intending to speak with them, but quickly departed, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Police strongly urged Kim to leave, citing concerns for his personal safety should a confrontation arise while he attempted to communicate with the protesters.

The Seoul election commission said Kim's visit was not an official institutional engagement. Officials indicated his purpose was not to enter the arena and retrieve ballot boxes or other materials.

"I understand it was an unofficial visit," a Seoul election commission official said, adding that "no schedule has been confirmed at this point for transferring the ballot boxes."

The protest at the handball arena, now in its 22nd consecutive day, stems from a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections. Inside the arena, approximately 380 ballot boxes from across Songpa-gu remain, along with ballots, voting records and vote-counting records.

Meanwhile, the prolonged blockade — which has cut off access to offices inside the arena for more than three weeks — is causing mounting losses for several organizations based there.

An official from the nonprofit Bicycle21 said the group was unable to submit a bid for a Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education project earlier this month because its official seal and other necessary documents were locked inside the building. Two other events have also been thrown into uncertainty. "We estimate our losses at around 140 million won ($101,000)," the official said.

"We are a nonprofit, not a sports organization, so our situation is even more desperate — we have to absorb all the losses ourselves," the official added. "I feel like breaking a window to get in."

Organizations based in the arena have called for authorities to intervene, but police have focused solely on managing the situation, citing safety concerns over a forced entry.

However, there is speculation that the joint investigative team of prosecutors and police, which is probing the ballot shortage, could enter the arena to conduct a search and seizure.

A protester surnamed Kim, who said he had been guarding the entrance for several days, said: "I think we should step aside if the joint team comes with a search warrant, but there will definitely be people who won't."

The overall size of the protest has shrunk from its early days.

As of noon Friday, city data showed around 9,000 people gathered at Olympic Park. Those in their 60s made up the largest age group, at 25.7 percent.


husn7@heraldcorp.com