20s and 30s Return to Protest: Second Weekend of 'Vote Counting Center Blockade'

[Anchor]

As the protest blocking the vote counting center in Seoul enters its second weekend, the number of young people in their 20s and 30s has increased once again. Amidst a large crowd and the appearance of volunteers, the majority of those gathered at the protest site chanted for "election fraud investigations and a re-election."

Reporter Jo Yoon-ha has the story.

[Reporter]

In front of the vote counting center at Olympic Park in Seoul, where the protest has been ongoing for nine days.

Many citizens have gathered late into the night, waving South Korean flags and repeatedly chanting slogans.

[Election fraud, re-election! Hand-counting of same-day ballots!]

As of 9:00 p.m. yesterday, the number of protesters was estimated at 20,000.

While this is a decrease from the peak of 30,000 last weekend, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people in their 20s and 30s, unlike the weekdays when the crowd consisted mostly of older individuals.

In fact, according to Seoul's real-time urban data, people in their 30s accounted for approximately one-quarter of the floating population near the counting center, the largest demographic group.

[Lee Si-eun / Gwanak-gu, Seoul: Regardless of political leanings or who won the election, I felt that this is a matter of restoring the sovereignty of the people...]

[Lee Do-hyeop / Songpa-gu, Seoul: I believe that problems clearly occurred during the voting process, and that the truth must be accurately investigated...]

Most of the protesters chanted for election fraud investigations and a re-election, and while some even displayed the U.S. flag, there were also opinions expressing disagreement with such political slogans.

[Protester: I really don't understand why they have to carry the American flag. To gain more public sympathy, I think they should drop the talk of election fraud...]

However, there were no reports of radical behavior or physical clashes.

Meanwhile, the police have launched an investigation into protesters who illegally searched the belongings of the women's junior national handball team and confined a journalist.

It is reported that while one woman involved in the handball team incident has been identified, the identities of others have not yet been confirmed.

The joint investigation team of the prosecution and police, which is looking into the ballot paper shortage, conducted a search and seizure of the National Election Commission's servers for the third consecutive day.

The joint team is expected to focus on analyzing the seized materials first, before moving on to summoning relevant individuals for questioning starting this week.

(Reported by Kang Si-woo | Video by Yoon Tae-ho)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.