Ballot Removal Completed at Handball Gymnasium... Disputed Ballots Sent to NISI

 
All 2.47 million ballots from the Songpa district for the June 3 local elections were completely removed from the Handball Gymnasium at Olympic Park today (the 29th) after undergoing public verification by the special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han of the National Election Commission.

This comes 146 days after the ballots were transported to the Handball Gymnasium.

The National Election Commission took away 420 boxes containing ballots verified as having no irregularities, while the special counsel team took 13 boxes containing disputed ballots, some of which will be sent to the National Forensic Service.

The National Election Commission began removing the verified ballot boxes from the gymnasium at around 6:15 a.m. today.

The removal was carried out quickly and without clashes as police formed human chains to block protesters.

National Election Commission officials first moved the ballots where no irregularities were found.

They exited through Gates 1 and 2 of the Handball Gymnasium, loaded the ballot boxes onto vehicles, and departed.

These ballots will be stored in a secure warehouse designated separately by the National Election Commission in the capital area.

In accordance with the Public Official Election Act, they will be stored for the duration of the elected official's term, just like other ballots.

Ballots with suspected irregularities and raised disputes were also removed to the outside.

The special counsel team of the National Election Commission plans to conduct procedures such as detailed verification for these ballots.

Among them, some will be transferred to the National Forensic Service for detailed verification, while others will be reviewed by the special counsel team to determine whether to convert them into subjects of investigation after analysis.

With all ballot boxes removed today, the protest blocking the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium is expected to end after about four months.

Previously used as a counting station for the Jamsil area, the Handball Gymnasium has been blockaded since June 5 following the outbreak of a ballot shortage incident.

Protesters effectively occupied the area around the entrances of the counting station, claiming they could not accept the vote counting results.

Some protesters who came after hearing news of yesterday's public verification and held an overnight sit-in shed tears as the removal of the ballot boxes was completed.

Some protesters continue to stand around the Handball Gymnasium area waving Taegeukgi and the Stars and Stripes, shouting slogans such as calling for a revote due to fraudulent elections, even after the removal was completed.

The special counsel team of the National Election Commission entered the interior of the Handball Gymnasium yesterday, the 52nd day since launching its investigation, to conduct public verification on approximately 2.47 million ballots from Songpa-gu and closed-circuit televisions.

The special counsel team concluded the verification procedure at around 12:38 a.m. today, 12 hours after the public verification began.

Concluding the verification procedure, Special Counsel Lee Tae-han emphasized that they had selected a significant number of ballots requiring additional analysis for future detailed appraisal, and stated that they would neither jump to conclusions about unconfirmed matters nor predict contents without sufficient verification.

Some observers from the People Power Party protested by requesting a recount, but Special Counsel Lee responded that the ballots subject to investigation were limited to those selected on the spot, and he had no authority over other ballots.

Immediately after Special Counsel Lee left, about 10 opposition observers, including People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and Supreme Council member Kim Min-su, staged a sit-in protest until dawn to block the transport in front of the boxes of verified ballots.

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