Protesters blocking the Jamsil ballot-counting site and demanding a rerun election over the June 3 nationwide local elections ballot shortage have continued their demonstration for a third day.
According to Seoul's real-time city data on the 7th, as of 1:10 p.m. that day, the real-time population inside Olympic Park was counted at 14,000 to 16,000.
Among all age groups, people in their 30s were the largest at 23.7%. Those in their 20s accounted for 19.1%. They were followed by those in their 40s at 18.4%, those 60 and older at 15.5%, those in their 50s at 14.0%, and teens at 9.3%. Of these, women made up 52.7% and men 47.3%.
The real-time population inside Olympic Park rose 11.7% from an hour earlier. It increased 68.9% from three hours earlier. Compared with the average for the same time over the past 28 days, it was 32.2% higher.
Protesters are currently gathered at eight entrances to the counting site, chanting the slogan "rerun election." They are holding Taegeukgi flags and placards bearing rerun-election slogans.
Inside the arena, ballot boxes already counted and brought from Jamsil 7-dong, along with ballot sorters and counters, were reportedly left in place. With the entrances blocked, transfer to the nearby election commission office is not possible.
There is testimony that dozens of National Election Commission staff members, who were reportedly trapped inside the counting site, left the arena the previous day, but the commission has not given official confirmation.
The crowd is expected to grow. Seoul's real-time city data projected that at 6 p.m. that day, the population inside Olympic Park would reach 22,000 to 24,000. Congestion at the site is expected to peak at that time.
Meanwhile, according to police and others, as of 10 p.m. the previous day, an unofficial estimate of about 30,000 people gathered around the Handball Gymnasium at Olympic Park in Songpa District, Seoul.