Woman Known as 'Ol-darc' Faces Arrest Warrant for Blocking Access to Vote Counting Site; Three Others Also Face Warrants for Insulting Police

Police have requested an arrest warrant for a woman who blocked staff from a sports organization under the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee from entering a vote counting site at Olympic Park last month.

The Seoul Songpa Police Station announced on July 16 that it had requested a pre-trial arrest warrant for the woman, identified as A, on charges of obstruction of business.

As the prosecution filed for the warrant around 6:00 PM on the same day, the Seoul Eastern District Court is scheduled to hold a warrant review hearing (interrogation of a suspect before arrest) at 2:30 PM on July 21.

A is accused of obstructing the business of the sports organization by holding onto the door and refusing to move for approximately two hours on June 16, after protesters and People Power Party Representative Jang Dong-hyuk had agreed to allow the sports organization staff to enter the handball gymnasium.

Although Representative Jang and Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min attempted to persuade her, A did not back down, insisting that preservation procedures for the ballots and ballot boxes inside the venue must be carried out first.

In hardline conservative online communities, there was a movement to praise the woman, referring to her as 'Ol-darc,' a portmanteau of 'Olympic Park' and 'Joan of Arc.'

Separately, the police have also requested pre-trial arrest warrants for three men in their 20s on charges of special obstruction of official duty, for interfering with police officers at the vote counting site on June 6.

They are accused of blocking the path and insulting police officers by calling them "Chinese police."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.