While nine sport federations under the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) removed items from Olympic Park Handball Arena in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 8th, police said they would thoroughly preserve ballots and other materials inside the arena. The Handball Arena was used as the Songpa-gu ballot counting center during the June 3 local elections.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, "Police recognize that the situation around Olympic Park Handball Arena is a grave matter related to the infringement of the people's suffrage," and stated accordingly.
It added, "The free expression of ordinary citizens is also a fundamental right of the people and must naturally be protected and respected, and we clearly recognize that the ballot storage site needs to be preserved as an object of investigation by the special counsel."
Police, however, explained that access to the offices of sport bodies housed in the Handball Arena was unavoidable due to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the 2027 college admissions early decision applications for physical education departments. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) also reportedly requested access support from police twice, on the 10th of last month and on the 4th of this month.
Police deployed about 1,830 personnel to the site that day to assist with removing items. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, "We entered the site together with four members of the special counsel team, six officials from the National Election Commission, and five officials from Korea Sports Industry Company (KSPO&CO), which manages the arena," adding, "Since the media also plans to broadcast live from the scene, we will manage the storage of ballots thoroughly so there is not the slightest blemish."
Federations under the university sports association entered the Handball Arena that day with police cooperation and moved out computers and administrative documents within an hour.
Since the June 3 local elections "ballot shortage incident," protests to blockade the counting center had continued for 95 days. On June 16, officials from sport bodies also tried to enter the Handball Arena, but the so-called "Oldarque" blocked them and the attempt fell through.