2.47 Million Ballots Trapped at Jamsil Counting Center Freed After 27 Days... Special Committee Leaves 40 Minutes After On-Site Inspection [Full Report]

[Financial News] After deploying 2,000 police officers, the National Assembly Special Committee on State Administration Investigation, which is probing the ballot shortage in the June 3 local elections, succeeded on July 2 in entering the vote-counting center at the Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park, Songpa District, Seoul, which had been blocked by protesters. It was 27 days after the doors were shut on June 5, when protests over alleged election fraud began amid controversy over a "late ballot box."
According to Yonhap News Agency, the committee members entered the stadium at around 1:10 p.m. and moved to an underground storage area, where they inspected the site for about 40 minutes.
The on-site verification was conducted to restore confidence in the election management system and assess the condition of the election assets in storage. The members focused on the status of lock management after ballot boxes were moved, the security system, and the placement of closed-circuit television cameras.
Inside the stadium, about 380 ballot boxes from across Songpa District, along with 2.47 million ballots, election records such as poll books and vote-counting reports, remained stored after protesters blocked their removal. Administrative assets, including PCs, printers, and vote-counting equipment leased by the NEC, were also reported to be kept there.
However, no substantive verification procedures were carried out during the inspection, such as opening the ballot boxes or counting the ballots.
The committee members left the site at around 1:47 p.m., leaving the election documents and leased equipment trapped inside the stadium and not moving them outside.
Some have raised concerns about administrative and financial losses, including additional costs caused by delays in removing the leased equipment.
Earlier in the day, police deployed about 2,000 personnel, including 25 riot police units and detectives, around the polling site to secure the committee's route.
During efforts to disperse protesters near the entrance, a physical clash broke out. One protester injured a foot and was taken to a hospital, but no one was reportedly detained for obstruction of official duties or other offenses.
Police said they plan to continue controlling access to the site to ensure the safe management of key election documents and equipment in the future.

sms@fnnews.com Sung Min-seo Reporter