Ballot-count venue sealed for 27 days finally opened as parliamentary probe team enters, leaves empty-handed

The doors of the Olympic Park Handball Arena in Songpa-gu, Seoul — sealed shut for 27 days — swung open Thursday as the National Assembly's special parliamentary investigation committee on the June 3 local elections ballot shortage gained entry to the ballot-counting site with police assistance, conducting an on-site inspection that lasted about 40 minutes.

The arena had been blockaded since June 5 by citizens alleging violations of voting rights and election fraud, after some polling stations ran short of ballots during the local elections.

That morning, the arena's entrance doors were wrapped in multiple layers of blue tape and rope by rally participants. The demonstrators had gathered in front of the gates to block the committee from entering, calling for an investigation into alleged election fraud.

Police, working in teams of four, cleared a path by physically lifting and removing about 10 demonstrators who were blocking the 2-2 gate, taking them away one by one. The shutter rose at around 1:08 p.m. once access was secured.

Committee members, their aides and the National Assembly press corps entered the arena at around 1:10 p.m. After nearly 40 minutes inside, the lawmakers emerged at around 1:46 p.m. and the shutter came back down.

The committee members did not open any ballot boxes or verify ballot counts during the inspection, and they left without taking any items from inside the arena — including ballot boxes, ballots or voting records. The computers and printers the National Election Commission used during the count were also reported to remain in place.

Police deployed about 1,500 officers to the scene, including 100 community service officers, 200 detectives and more than 20 riot police units. Before entering, officers broadcast repeated warnings asking demonstrators to move away from the entrance, cautioning that "illegal acts such as obstruction of official duties may be punishable under relevant laws."

Tensions flared as police began removing protesters. Some demonstrators shouted at the lawmakers, calling them "thieves" and demanding to know whether they still believed there was no evidence of election fraud.

The protests continued as lawmakers boarded their vehicles, with demonstrators crowding around the cars and chanting slogans including "Don't forget the election fraud," "Hold a re-election," "A Democratic Party without democracy" and "Expose the illegality."