Employees of sports organizations moving into the stadium enter the office and take computers, documents, etc.
Sports Council โIt was very difficult because the athlete support equipment was tied upโฆ it was the best for the competitionโ
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Jeong Yun-ju, Jeon Jae-hoon, Yoon Min-hyuk, Jeong Ji-soo = "Put it all in for now", "We have to get out quickly."
The handball stadium at Jamsil Olympic Park in Songpa-gu continues for 95 days as protests to block the vote counting center (handball stadium), triggered by a shortage of ballot papers for the June 3 local elections, continue.
Employees of sports organizations affiliated with the Korea Sports Council that have offices here broke through the blockade of protesters and entered the vote counting center at around 9:20 a.m. on the 8th, with the police clearing the way.
Tension was evident on the faces of the employees wearing fluorescent vests and masks. They ran into their offices, each carrying a gray box and pulling a cart.
After entering the office, they started putting their work computers into boxes.
They swept up items they saw, including monitors, keyboards, and office supplies on the desk, and put them into boxes. He was also seen tearing off the tape on his wrist and quickly attaching it to the box.
Some personnel ran to the cabinet and swept up bundles of work-related documents, as well as clothing that appeared to be uniforms and the Taegeukgi used in games, and placed them in a box.
The atmosphere was even busier as the 20th Aichi-Nagoya Summer Asian Games, which will be held in Japan from the 19th, are just around the corner.
Items necessary for the decision-making process, such as a journeyman's ledger and gavel, were also included in the box, and personal items such as toilet paper, A4 paper, post-it notes, and slippers were also packed.
I was so focused on gathering the items that the only sounds in the office were the 'bukbuk' sound of box tape being ripped open and the sound of heavy breathing.
The employees began the finishing work by saying things like โLetโs finish in 5 minutes,โ โLetโs move the boxes together,โ and โHow can we carry all the documents because they are heavy?โ
About 30 minutes after entering, boxes with names of sports such as 'Dance Sports', 'Wushu', and 'Fin Swimming Association' were piled up in front of the entrance gate.
A police line was set up at the location where the ballots were stored. Four police lines were installed side by side at a height exceeding the height of a person, with police officers guarding the area.
At 10:05 a.m., about 45 minutes after entering, employees loaded the pre-stacked boxes onto a cart and took them out of the counting center.
Police created a human chain to move the boxes to trucks.
During this process, protests from demonstrators blocked by barricades and police human bands began to intensify.
Some protestors protested when they saw the box coming out, shouting, โWho knows whatโs inside?โ and โWhy isnโt everyone saying anything?โ
In particular, when Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, arrived at the scene, chants of โre-election through rigged elections, same-day ballot countingโ grew louder.
Some employees tried to take out the remaining items in the truck, but had to wait near the entrance as CEO Jang continued to speak.
They were each holding a laptop monitor in their arms or holding a document envelope with box tape on their hands.
There was silence except for the sound of the field staff giving them directions to the truck.
Immediately after Representative Jang's remarks, at around 10:30 a.m., when the employees had loaded everything into the truck, the task of removing items from the counting center, which took a total of about 1 hour and 10 minutes, was completed.
Kim Dae-nyeon, secretary-general of the Korea Sports Council, met with reporters after the removal work was completed that day and said, "More than 15 sports organizations are located in the handball stadium, and it was very difficult because administrative equipment, player support equipment, and documents were tied up during the 90 days (when it was closed)."
Secretary General Kim bowed his head and said, "As the Asian Games are just around the corner, I inevitably requested cooperation from the police. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the police authorities for their active cooperation and the citizens for their support."
Ham Se-hee, secretary-general of the Korea Underwater Fin Swimming Association, also said, "I feel very fortunate that today, with the help of citizens and police, we were able to take out computer bodies, laptops, and other documents that can perform the minimum amount of work," and added, "We promise to do our best to be faithful to our duties and to successfully hold the Asian Games."
When asked, "What kind of equipment was taken out?" he answered, "We took out documents necessary for work, such as computer hard drives, laptops, other necessary documents, and seals."
On this day, the police deployed approximately 1,830 experienced personnel, including 28 riot squads, Daehwa police, and detectives, to maintain order at the scene.
It was confirmed that no protest participants were arrested or investigated by the police on charges of assault or obstruction of business that day.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, "We plan to take strict action in accordance with laws and principles regarding obvious illegal acts such as obstructing groups entering the stadium or assaulting or defaming police officers or public officials."
