Protesters Heckle Lawmakers, Block Access to Sports Facility

[Anchor]

Protests blocking the vote-counting center at Seoul Olympic Park have continued for over 13 days. Following the People Power Party, Democratic Party lawmakers visited the site yesterday (June 17), but they were forced to turn back after just 10 minutes due to backlash from protesters. Police plan to launch an investigation into a woman who blocked entry to the offices of sports organizations.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu has the story.

[Reporter]

Yesterday marked the 13th day of the protests blocking the vote-counting center at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul.

Democratic Party lawmakers Cheon Jun-ho, Jeon Yong-gi, and Lim Oh-kyung, a former handball player, visited the protest site.

As they approached Gate 2-1, where sports organizations had attempted to enter the day before, protesters strongly resisted.

[Protester: Why are you here! Why!]

Although Representative Cheon stated, "The ruling and opposition parties will work together to uncover the truth through a parliamentary investigation into electoral system reform," his remarks were met with no support.

[Cheon Jun-ho/Democratic Party Lawmaker (Yesterday): We respect your voices in protecting voting rights. However, we believe the activities of the sports associations must be guaranteed.]

Jeers and profanities were shouted, and the lawmakers left after 10 minutes.

[Protester: Election fraud! Election fraud!]

Protesters continue to stage sit-ins throughout the handball gymnasium, monitoring the entry of outsiders.

Despite the police warning of a stern response, including the use of the term "ruin," nothing has changed.

The day before yesterday, it appeared that an agreement had been reached after the People Power Party leadership intervened, but this effort was thwarted when a female protester blocked the entrance.

[Park Dae-chul/People Power Party Lawmaker (Day before yesterday): (The sports associations) will not have any access to the ballot boxes. (Protester: We don't trust it!)]

Because there is no unified channel of communication, let alone a single organizer, hard-won agreements frequently fall back to square one.

[Protester: We have no leader. We should help the other side maintain their livelihood within reasonable limits. (Protester: I don't agree. We don't agree.)]

Experts point out that strict application of the law is necessary to prevent the situation from becoming protracted.

[Yeom Geon-woong/Professor, Department of Police and Fire Administration, U1 University: They must be strictly charged with obstruction of business. There is also the issue of demonstrating collective force.]

Police plan to launch an investigation into a woman who single-handedly blocked entry to the offices of organizations affiliated with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, on charges including obstruction of business.

Reported by Kwon Min-kyu | Video by Oh Young-chun and Kim Seung-tae | Video Editing by Kim Yoon-sung | Graphics by Seo Seung-hyun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.