Protest Blocking Jamsil Vote-Counting Site Enters Second Day; Nearby Concert Venue Also Changes Operations

[Financial News] A protest blocking the Jamsil vote-counting site and calling for a by-election over the shortage of ballots in the June 3 local election has continued into a second day. As of 7 a.m. on the 6th, about 500 people remained around the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park in Seoul's Songpa District, continuing an overnight protest. They sat or stood in front of the gymnasium entrances, holding Taegeukgi flags and placards while chanting, "By-election."
The protesters displayed Taegeukgi flags and placards bearing slogans such as "Deprivation of voting rights." They sat in rows in front of the gymnasium entrances and sang the national anthem, while other participants monitored the surrounding area to block the removal of ballot boxes. Police deployed dozens of riot officers near the main entrance to the gymnasium in preparation for any possible incident.
The protest began around 10 a.m. the previous day, when two ballot boxes from Jamsil 7-dong were moved to the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park. The Jamsil 7-dong polling station had been blocked by protesters after the ballot shortage incident, and police dispersed the crowd to remove the ballot boxes.
The crowd around the vote-counting site grew rapidly from the afternoon of the previous day. The number of protesters, which stood at around 2,000 at about 9 p.m., reportedly swelled to as many as 7,000 overnight. Kim Min-soo, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, and conservative YouTuber Jeon Han-gil also visited the scene.
Although vote counting was completed around 3 p.m. the previous day, 20 to 30 NEC officials were reportedly still inside the vote-counting site as the protest continued. Normally, ballots are sealed after counting and moved to an NEC storage facility, but the transfer has been delayed as protesters guarding the entrances try to prevent the ballot boxes from being taken out. During the process, some protesters also caused friction by conducting unauthorized checks on staff, citizens, and reporters inside the gymnasium office.
There were no major physical clashes overnight. The size of the protest, which had eased somewhat during the early morning hours, began to rise again as daylight broke.
The protest has also affected a major concert scheduled near the vote-counting site. HYBE's "2026 Weverse Con Festival" is being held from the 6th to the 7th at KSPO Dome and 88 Lawn Field in Olympic Park. The organizers had initially planned to operate wristband distribution counters and experience zones inside the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium, but they announced that some operations would be changed because of the protest.

425_sama@fnnews.com Choi Seung-han Reporter