Protests over ballot shortage enter 28th day as 139 face investigation

Protests against the ballot shortage that disrupted the June 3 local elections have now stretched into their second month. The demonstrations began at the Woosung Apartment polling station in Songpa-gu, Seoul — the last site where voting was still under way — then moved to the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium and show no sign of ending.

In the interim, the National Assembly formed a special parliamentary investigation committee, which on Thursday conducted an on-site inspection of the Songpa-gu election commission office and the handball gymnasium where ballot boxes are being stored.

Investigators entered the facility for the first time in 27 days of blockade, but the committee agreed to leave the ballot boxes inside, meaning the dispute remains unresolved a full month on.

A range of illegal acts have also occurred during the protests — including spitting at police officers and staged self-harm incidents — prompting police to open investigations. The number of people under investigation has reached 139.

At around 8 a.m. Friday, about 150 demonstrators gathered in front of the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, repeatedly chanting "fraudulent election — hold a new vote" and "same-day ballots — hand-counted." They braved the rain in ponchos and under umbrellas.

The same chants have echoed at this spot for a month. The protests began on June 3, when word spread that voting had been suspended in parts of Seoul, including Songpa-gu, due to a ballot shortage — with roughly an hour left before polls were set to close at around 5 p.m. Some voters left without casting their ballots.

As news of the disruption spread, people with grievances began gathering at Polling Station No. 2 in Jamsil 7-dong — located at the Woosung Apartment senior center — which had been the last site in the district where voting continued.

Demonstrators began assembling on the night of June 3 and held their position for three days through the morning of June 5, surrounding the senior center and blocking its windows. Election workers and poll observers inside were effectively trapped.

The protesters argued that the ballot boxes stored inside the senior center were key evidence in the shortage dispute and that the National Election Commission could no longer be trusted, and they blocked the removal of the boxes.

On June 5, two days after voting ended, the commission asked police to transport the ballot boxes so counting could proceed. Officers moved in, cleared the protesters blocking the entrance and retrieved two ballot boxes, which were then transferred to the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium — the designated counting center for Songpa-gu.

Once word spread that the ballot boxes were being held at the gymnasium, crowds calling for a new election gathered on the night of June 5. Insisting the boxes were evidence, they surrounded the entire facility and blockaded its entrances.

The blockade halted normal operations for sports organizations affiliated with the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee that had offices inside the gymnasium. The groups repeatedly asked protest organizers to allow them to retrieve computers and sports equipment, but every request was refused.

As the harm mounted — including delayed salary payments for sports organization staff — Korean Sport and Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min and opposition lawmakers stepped in. The sports groups reached an agreement with protest leaders, but a woman in her 30s clung to a door handle and refused to yield, preventing entry. Police have booked her and others involved on charges of obstruction of business.

Other illegal acts tied to the blockade and protests have continued. Police have identified and are investigating a protester who conducted an unauthorized search of young national handball team players who entered the gymnasium to retrieve training equipment. A woman in her 40s who spat at a police officer was indicted while in detention.

A man in his 30s who cut his own arm with a sharp object in a staged self-harm incident is also under investigation on charges of aggravated intimidation. Police are additionally investigating alleged assaults on journalists, the spread of false information and obstruction of official duties.

As of June 29, police had 57 active cases under investigation involving a total of 139 suspects and persons of interest. The number is expected to grow after a man in his 60s was arrested Thursday when police moved protesters to allow the parliamentary investigation committee's on-site inspection.