[Anchor]

Ninety-five days after the blockade protests began at the Olympic Park vote-counting center, employees from nine athletic organizations have entered the handball stadium. They rushed in to retrieve essential supplies for the Asian Games, which open next week.

Reporter Im Jihyeon has the story from the scene.

[Reporter]

At 9:00 AM, police riot squads are deployed to the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, forming a human chain around entrances 2 and 3.

[How will you take responsibility if evidence is damaged because you enter without any legal safety measures?] Dozens of protesters blockading the vote-counting center shout and fiercely protest, but shortly after, the doors open, and representatives from nine athletic organizations line up and enter with empty boxes.

Entering their offices 95 days after the blockade began, the employees hurriedly gathered items necessary for the Asian Games, which are just 11 days away, such as foreign player analysis footage and training equipment.

[Is that a medal? Medals are out. Take the medals out.]

Athletic organizations had previously appealed that they lacked even the seals necessary for payroll disbursements as well as equipment to take to international competitions. Yesterday morning (September 8), they secured six 1-ton truckloads of supplies in just one hour.

[Kim Dae-nyun / Secretary General, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee: There were many difficulties, but now that we have retrieved the equipment and documents, we will carefully review them and work to ensure there are no disruptions in operating the national team.]

To ensure smooth entry and prevent clashes, some 1,800 personnel from 28 police riot squads were deployed. Officials from the National Election Commission and the special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han entered first to take necessary measures to preserve the ballot boxes.

[Woo Jong-hwa / Head of Security Division, Songpa Police Station: Officials from the special counsel team and the election commission moved to the location where the ballots are stored and completed the necessary safety measures...]

The athletic organizations' entry yesterday proceeded through consultations with the police, as the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee determined they could no longer delay, with the Asian Games and early admissions screening for university physical education departments approaching.

No forced measures, such as dispersing protesters, took place, and the blockade protests at the vote-counting center are still ongoing.

Meanwhile, prosecutors sought a two-year prison sentence yesterday against a woman in her 40s accused of hurling insults and spitting at a police officer at the blockade protest site last June.

(Camera reporting: Kim Seung-tae, Video editing: Kim Jun-hee)