Handball Gymnasium Blockade Enters 54th Day as Sports Bodies Urge Access and Removal of Office Supplies

[Financial News] The member sports associations of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, which have been unable to enter their offices inside the Olympic Park handball gymnasium for 54 days because of a protest over the blockade of a ballot-counting site, urged the National Assembly to guarantee staff access and the removal of work-related items, saying their administrative operations have been effectively paralyzed.
Kim Jae-won of the Rebuilding Korea Party, a member of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, and nine KSOC member sports associations based in the handball gymnasium — billiards, Dancesport, mountaineering, sepaktakraw, water skiing and wakeboarding, underwater and fin swimming, wushu, Fencing and handball — held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center in Seoul's Yeouido district on the morning of the 28th. They described the work disruption and the damage being suffered by athletes and coaches as the restrictions on access continue.
They said essential duties cannot be carried out properly because computer equipment and administrative records needed to support national team athletes, run domestic and international competitions, manage athlete and coach registration and qualifications, and handle international exchanges remain inside the office.
They added that concerns are even greater for six groups — Dancesport, mountaineering, sepaktakraw, wushu, Fencing and handball — because they are preparing to take part in the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya, which will be held in September.
They also said a range of civil service requests, including the issuance of competition record certificates needed for college admissions and employment, are being delayed.
The groups stressed, "This is not just an inconvenience caused by being unable to use the office." They added, "Member sports associations are not organizations for a specific group alone. They are a key pillar of sports administration that supports the public in enjoying recreational sports, athletes in pursuing their dreams, and South Korea in achieving results on the international stage. If sports administration stops, the damage will ultimately fall on athletes, coaches, sports professionals and the public."
In a back briefing after the press conference, Kim said, "I plan to strongly ask not only the special committee on the state investigation but also lawmakers from both parties for cooperation." He added, "I also informed People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun about today's press conference and am urging him to help with the plan to remove office supplies."
Regarding remarks made the previous day by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Park Jeong-bo at a regular briefing, saying, "If the KSOC tries to enter the gymnasium, we will actively cooperate," Kim said, "The deployment of strong public force could infringe on the rights claimed by citizens on site, so we must approach this very carefully and cautiously." He added, "As a rule, we are proceeding with entry only after discussions with the citizens on site."
The groups also said, "We must establish transparent procedures so as not to undermine public trust in the management of ballot boxes and voting materials or create unnecessary misunderstandings."
The handball gymnasium, which was used as a ballot-counting site for the June 3 local elections, has remained off-limits as protests triggered by a shortage of ballots continued. The nine member sports associations are currently maintaining only minimal operations in temporary office space, and they plan to move back into their offices inside the handball gymnasium sometime this week.
[email protected] Park Seong-hyeon Reporter