Police Launch Investigation into Protesters Who Searched Handball Team's Belongings

The police have launched an investigation into participants of the "Jamsil vote counting protest," who conducted an unauthorized search of the belongings of the women's youth national handball team.

Protesters claiming election fraud demanded the suspension of vote counting on the 5th in front of the handball arena at Olympic Park, the vote counting center. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On June 12, the National Police Agency announced, "We began an investigation on June 10 into clear illegal acts, including coercion and assault, against the junior national team."

The Songpa Police Station in Seoul identified one woman among the three perpetrators and summoned her on charges including coercion. The police are also tracking down the identities of the other individuals involved. It has been reported that the police initiated the investigation independently, without any separate complaint or accusation regarding the search of the handball team’s belongings. However, searches of belongings of other citizens besides the handball team have not become subjects of investigation at this time.

The National Police Agency stated, "We will actively support, protect, and guarantee the public’s legitimate expression of their political rights so there is no inconvenience. However, we will strictly investigate acts that exploit this situation to disrupt others’ freedom of movement or access."

On June 8, some protest participants surrounding the handball arena at Olympic Park in Seoul, the vote counting site, stirred controversy by searching the belongings of handball team members who had come to retrieve training equipment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.