Riot officers clash with protesters on site as they try to enter the polling station in Jamsil 7-dong in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on June 5. [YONHAP]
The police and protesters briefly clashed on Friday morning after the former arrived at a polling station in Songpa District, southern Seoul, to extract two ballot boxes, which the protesters had blockaded for 35 hours.
Following a ballot paper shortage that disrupted voting at more than a dozen polling stations in Seoul on Wednesday, or Election Day, roughly 300 people — including YouTubers — who alleged election fraud crowded the Jamsil 7-dong Precinct 2 polling station, temporarily set up at a senior citizens' center at an apartment complex. They were apparently prepared for a prolonged standoff, as some had brought more than 100 plastic folding chairs. Around 1,000 riot officers from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Songpa Police Station were dispatched and arrived at the scene at around 7:50 a.m.
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The sudden early-morning deployment caught protesters off guard and turned the scene chaotic. When the police announced that they had received an explicit request from the National Election Commission to help maintain order and secure a route for the vehicle transporting the ballot boxes, some protesters responded by singing the national anthem. Others locked arms in front of the doors to block officers from entering.
