"Olympic venue blocked just days before competition"... sports groups call for police intervention

[Financial News] As rallies around the Olympic Park vote-counting center have dragged on since the June 3 local elections, sports organizations housed at the handball gymnasium said their work has come to a standstill and urged the government to come up with countermeasures.
At around 9:30 a.m. on the 11th, employees from sports organizations based at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium, also known as the NHN Ticketlink Arena, gathered in front of Gate 2-1. Holding signs reading, "Sports organization employees are not your enemy," "Please guarantee access and work only," and "The right to vote is important, and so is the public's right to enjoy sports," they issued a statement and called for normal access to the venue. They also tried to enter their offices, but the attempt failed after a standoff with people taking part in the on-site rally.
At a press conference held later at another location, the sports organizations said preparations for international competitions and administrative work had effectively been suspended. Since the rally near the vote-counting center began, the venue entrances have been effectively blocked, restricting access for 12 sports organizations with offices in the handball gymnasium, according to reports. The groups said corporate cards, one-time passwords for authentication, seals, joint certificates and other items needed for administrative and accounting work, as well as equipment for running international and domestic competitions, are stored inside the venue, but access is currently difficult.
The organizations warned that if the situation drags on, it could affect athlete management and schedules for international competitions, and that some events are also linked to preparations for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya in 2026. The secretary general of the Korea Fencing Association said, "The Asian Championships will be held in India next week, and we have to leave on the 16th, but we cannot even retrieve the equipment the athletes need, and we have not been able to pay the entry fees or hotel costs." Preparations for the 24th CMAS World Finswimming Championships, scheduled to be held from the 22nd to the 29th at Park Tae-hwan Aquatics Center in Incheon, are also not proceeding smoothly.
They also argued that the blockade is disrupting key tasks such as qualification exams for nationally certified sports instructors, as well as the operation of international and domestic competitions, payment of taxes and four major insurance contributions, and the disbursement of allowances to athletes, coaches and referees. The groups said they held several rounds of talks with rally participants on the 9th and 10th about ways to gain access, but failed to reach an agreement.
The secretary general of the Korea Billiards Federation (KBF) said, "We even proposed that three employees and four rally participants enter together and verify what work is being done inside, but negotiations broke down when they demanded that we film the inside of the office, where security must be maintained." He added, "We plan to discuss access again today with police assistance, but at the moment there is no way to get in."
The organizations urged the government to intervene more actively. One official said, "We never expected this to drag on, but nearly a week has already passed. I think the time for law enforcement intervention has already come and gone."
However, the groups said they are not considering filing complaints against the rally participants. They explained, "We are also citizens, and many of the people at the scene are ordinary citizens who are simply taking part in the rally. We are not considering complaints on charges such as obstruction of business."
They added, "Athletes across the country who are active on site are suffering damage, and we expect competition schedules and Asian Games rankings to be affected as well. We urge the government to resolve this problem as soon as possible and return our workplace so sports professionals can do their jobs." The organizations are currently discussing response measures with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), according to reports.
Meanwhile, at the scene that day, some rally participants disconnected the power cord for the amplifier that was to be used for the press conference, disrupting the event. Some participants shouted at reporters, yelling things such as, "Why are you stirring things up?" and "You trash reporters," while following them around to protest. Some journalists also reported hearing abusive remarks such as, "Are you going to send your children to North Korea?"
yesji@fnnews.com Kim Ye-ji Reporter