Parliamentary probe panel enters Jamsil ballot site after 27-day blockade

The National Assembly's special parliamentary investigation committee into the June 3 local elections ballot shortage entered the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Thursday with police assistance, conducting a 40-minute on-site inspection. The visit came 27 days after a blockade protest began when two ballot boxes from Jamsil 7-dong Polling Station No. 2 were belatedly transferred to the gymnasium — which served as the ballot-counting site — and counted on June 5.

Committee members entered the gymnasium at around 1:10 p.m. and immediately moved to the below-ground floors, where they examined stored items and received briefings from officials on site.

They checked the condition of locks and storage procedures following the transfer of the ballot boxes, and reviewed the placement of closed-circuit television cameras and the overall security system.

After about 40 minutes, the members left the site at around 1:47 p.m. No substantive verification — such as opening ballot boxes or counting ballots — was carried out. The stored items were left in place and not removed.

Inside the gymnasium, approximately 380 ballot boxes and 2.47 million ballots from across Songpa-gu remain, unable to be taken out due to the ongoing blockade protest outside.

Election-related documents — including voting records, early voting records, ballot storage boxes and vote-counting summary sheets — as well as counting equipment and leased computers and printers were also reported to be stored inside.

Committee chair Yoon Sang-hyun said he was grateful to the many patriotic citizens outside who had allowed the panel to enter without incident. "We will pool our wisdom to propose the most effective improvements to South Korea's election management system, so that your right to vote and your political rights are not further undermined," Yoon said.

Earlier, police warned protesters near the entrances that those who refused to comply with safety measures — including clearing access routes — or who assaulted or threatened officers could face charges of obstruction of official duties, then moved participants away from the entrances one by one.

During the process, one participant was taken away by emergency responders after reporting a leg injury. Some participants protested toward riot police, though others nearby urged them to stand down.

Shouting and profanity were exchanged at the scene, including an argument between a participant who had been moved away from the entrance and other protesters.

However, once the committee members and police secured the entrances, the protesting participants gradually dispersed and tensions eased somewhat. Also present was a woman who had alone blocked a sports organization from entering the gymnasium and had been dubbed "All d'Arc" — a portmanteau of Olympic Park and Joan of Arc. Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Freedom and Innovation party, and television producer Lee Young-don, both of whom have alleged election fraud, also visited the scene.

Police deployed about 2,000 personnel to manage the site on Thursday, including some 300 plainclothes detectives and 25 riot police units.