National Inspection Committee Enters "Olympic Park Counting Station" After 27 Days of Blockade

First On-Site Inspection Concludes in 35 Minutes

Members of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on National Inspection entered the counting station inside Olympic Park, Seoul, where sit-ins have been ongoing due to the ballot paper shortage during the 9th nationwide local elections. This marks the first entry in 27 days since the blockade began.

At approximately 1:10 p.m. on July 2, the National Inspection Special Committee entered the counting station set up inside the Handball Stadium at Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul. This was the first entry since the sit-in at the counting station began on June 5. Led by Committee Chairman Yoon Sanghyun of the People Power Party, Democratic Party members Kim Youngbae and Yoon Kunyoung, and Lee Junseok of the Reform Party, among others, entered the site.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, members of the ruling and opposition parties belonging to the National Assembly's Special Committee on National Affairs Investigation (National Affairs Investigation Committee) attempted to enter the counting station in front of the handball gymnasium at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jaehyun Park

The committee members immediately moved to the basement, where, under the guidance of officials from the Songpa-gu District Election Commission, they inspected the site and examined items in storage. Currently, inside the counting station, there are 420 ballot storage boxes, including four ballot boxes from the Jamsil 7-dong polling station where ballots were in short supply, 104 copies of the polling records, 27 early voting records, and 460 tabulation result sheets, among other key documents. The committee members also checked whether CCTV cameras were recording and storing footage in the storage area. After completing the first on-site inspection, the special committee left the counting station at approximately 1:46 p.m.

After the first inspection, Chairman Yoon Sanghyun stated, “This is an unprecedented election disaster in the history of the Republic of Korea,” and explained, “This was our first on-site investigation, and former Songpa District Election Commission Secretary-General Cho Sihun testified that the site has been preserved exactly as it was since he last locked it, up to today.” Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yongman pointed out, “Since the current storage location (for the ballots, etc.) is the shower room of this stadium, there is no CCTV inside, nor does the entrance door have CCTV coverage,” adding, “Storing them here is completely unreasonable.”

Earlier, at around noon, the police deployed riot squads, dialogue police, and detectives at the gate to secure an entry route for the special committee. Before opening the entrance, Songpa Police Station in Seoul warned that any obstruction of the passage, as well as acts of assault, threats, or obstruction of official duties against officers, would be punishable. Nonetheless, some citizens strongly resisted. Some demanded that Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty and Innovation Party, accompany the on-site inspection, even chanting “Hwang Kyo-ahn must be present.” A woman, known as “Oldark,” who had previously been investigated by the police for blocking a Korea Sports Council official from entering, reappeared at the scene.

Meanwhile, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, approximately 1,500 police officers were deployed for the entry into the counting station on this day. This included 100 dialogue police officers, 200 detectives, and around 20 riot squads.

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