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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

“Ah!”: Olympic Park arena reopens after 95 days amid election-protest standoff

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Police and Korea Sports Association officials entered Seoul’s Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium after protesters had blocked access for 95 days following a dispute over ballot shortages during the June 3 local elections.
  • Nine sports organizations removed essential equipment and administrative materials, while authorities preserved election-related documents at the site for a special prosecutor’s investigation.
  • The operation ended without physical clashes, although protesters protested the removal of tents and banners.

At 9:13 a.m., a cry of “Ah!” rose from protesters outside Seoul’s Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium as the shutter finally lifted. After 95 days, police and Korea Sports Association officials entered the building.

Isn’t national sovereignty the priority?

· ProtestersThey shouted at police while officers removed tents and banners outside the arena.

More than 200 riot police and about 30 association employees approached the entrance at 9 a.m. on Sept. 8. Around 20 protesters and YouTubers followed, but police quickly surrounded the doors. Officers removed a tent and banners bearing messages such as “Rerun the election,” prompting protesters to shout, “Isn’t national sovereignty the priority?” and “Are you trying to destroy evidence?” Police formed a line and erected barricades, preventing the confrontation from becoming physical.

Nine sports organizations affiliated with the Korea Sports Association had been unable to access their offices for more than three months. The association said the disruption had become especially serious as the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games approached and applications opened for the 2027 university admissions cycle for sports specialists. The association had asked police for assistance twice, on Aug. 10 and Sept. 4.

Are you trying to destroy evidence?

· ProtestersThey challenged the police operation to reopen the building.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency deployed 28 riot units, 50 officers assigned to dialogue with protesters and about 100 detectives. Four officials from the election special-prosecutor team, six election officials and five officials from Korea Sports Industry Development accompanied the operation as observers. The special-prosecutor team had asked police to preserve voter lists and other election documents left at the polling station.

The Asian Games are just around the corner, so we had no choice but to ask for police cooperation.

· Kim Dae-nyeon, secretary-general of the Korea Sports AssociationHe explained why the association sought police assistance to remove equipment and documents.

Employees removed computers, laptops, seals and other materials needed for basic operations in about 70 minutes. They will work from temporary offices. Korea Sports Association Secretary-General Kim Dae-nyeon said the approaching Asian Games had made the police request unavoidable and that the association would work to prevent disruption to team operations.

We removed the computers, documents and seals needed for minimum operations and plan to work from a temporary office.

· Ham Se-hee, secretary-general of the Korea Underwater Fin Swimming AssociationShe described the materials taken from the organization’s office.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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