[Anchor]

The National Assembly’s special committee investigating the ballot paper shortage during the June 3 local elections conducted an on-site inspection of the Songpa-gu Election Commission and the Jamsil ballot counting station today (July 2). Despite clashes with protesters blocking the entrance to the Olympic Park venue, the committee finally managed to break through the blockade and enter the facility after 27 days, with the cooperation of the prosecution.

Reporter Ha Jeongyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

Members of the National Assembly’s special committee investigating the June 3 local election ballot shortage arrived at Olympic Park to inspect the Jamsil counting station in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

Protesters had gathered at the site early in the morning, leading to clashes, but the committee members, with the assistance of the police, succeeded in entering the handball stadium where the ballots are stored.

This marks the first entry into the facility since the blockade began 27 days ago.

[Yoon Geon-young/Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker: The police evidence-gathering cameras go in first, then the press, and then we will follow...]

The committee members inspected the stored items, checked the status of the locking mechanisms, and verified the locations of CCTV cameras to assess the management of the facility.

[Yoon Sang-hyun/People Power Party lawmaker: Our special committee members confirmed that Cho Si-hoon, the former secretary-general of the Songpa-gu Election Commission who was in charge at the time, was the last person to lock the doors, and he testified that the site has been preserved exactly as it was today.]

The inspection lasted about 40 minutes, but no substantive verification, such as opening ballot boxes or counting the ballots, was conducted.

During the process, no items, including ballot boxes, were removed from the site.

Inside the stadium, approximately 380 ballot boxes and 2.47 million ballots from across the Songpa-gu district remain, having not been moved.

The special committee also visited the Songpa-gu Election Commission earlier in the day to receive reports on the management of ballot papers, the response process at the time of the incident, and the voting and counting procedures.

The special committee plans to hold its first hearing on July 14 and a second hearing on July 22, followed by the adoption of a final report on the parliamentary investigation.

(Video reporting: Yang Ji-hoon | Video editing: Jang Hyun-gi)