Protests Blocking Vote Counting Center Enter 16th Day; Election Officials Under Investigation

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In Jamsil, Seoul, protests blocking a vote counting center over the shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections have entered their 16th day. The joint investigation headquarters of the prosecution and police is also accelerating its probe. We go straight to the scene.

Reporter Lee Se-hyeon, you covered this site last week as well. What is the atmosphere like today, June 20?

[Reporter]

Yes, the number of participants is lower than it was last Saturday due to the rain that has been falling since this morning.

However, some participants are still holding umbrellas with patterns of the South Korean or U.S. flags while chanting slogans calling for a re-election.

As the protests continue, the venue for a music concert originally scheduled to be held here at the Handball Gymnasium today has been moved to the 88 Lawn Field.

With the protests becoming prolonged, it appears difficult to hold games or performances here normally for the time being.

The investigation to uncover the truth behind the ballot shortage incident is also gaining momentum.

The joint investigation headquarters summoned one election official from Gaepo 2-dong, Gangnam-gu, as a witness today to question them about the situation on election day.

The joint headquarters stated that it will focus on analyzing materials secured through search and seizure operations at the National Election Commission and the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission this weekend.

The police, who are investigating illegal acts related to these protests, have identified three individuals who damaged the locks on the doors of the counting center and attempted to trespass on June 7, and plan to question them soon.

Additionally, police have questioned one of the five individuals suspected of illegally searching the belongings of the women's junior national handball team.

At the protest site today, an individual in his 80s was caught in possession of a gas gun; the police verified his firearm possession permit and allowed him to return home.

(Reported by Kim Nam-seong | Video by Kim Jun-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.