A woman in her 30s, accused of blocking sports organization staff from entering their offices at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium — which served as a ballot-counting venue for the June 3 local elections — arrives at Seoul Eastern District Court in Songpa-gu on July 21 for a pre-arrest warrant hearing. [Yonhap]
A woman in her 30s, accused of blocking sports organization staff from entering their offices at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium — which served as a ballot-counting venue for the June 3 local elections — arrives at Seoul Eastern District Court in Songpa-gu on July 21 for a pre-arrest warrant hearing. [Yonhap]

A woman in her 30s who became known as the "Olympic Park Joan of Arc" after blocking sports organizations from entering the handball gymnasium at Olympic Park has been referred to prosecutors. She faces charges of obstructing the operations of sports groups that have offices in the building.

The Seoul Songpa Police Station said Friday it had forwarded the case of the woman, identified only by her surname initial A, to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office without seeking her detention.

On June 16, A stood in front of the entrance to the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and blocked officials from sports organizations from entering for about two hours.

The organizations had been attempting to enter the venue to retrieve work-related materials, but A's obstruction prevented them from doing so. The groups have been unable to use their offices for nearly two months since the demonstration began, disrupting their operations.

During the police investigation, A said her actions were "not intended to serve the interests of any particular political party or individual," adding that she "simply wanted to ensure that every citizen's vote was properly protected."

Prosecutors subsequently sought a warrant to detain A, but the court rejected it on July 21, citing a lack of grounds to believe she would destroy evidence or flee.


20ki@heraldcorp.com