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The heart of sports that has come to a halt, a challenge to the rule of law posed by the blockade of the Jamsil vote counting center

Written on: June 17, 2026 | Column by current affairs critic specializing in IT/media

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멈춰버린 스포츠의 심장, 잠실 개표소 봉쇄가 던진 법치주의의 숙제
Introduction Introduction Card

On the 12th day, the area in front of the Seoul Olympic Park handball stadium is filled with the sharp voices of protesters shouting to protect the ballot box instead of the enthusiastic shouts of the national team players. This blockade protest, which began under the pretext of clarifying suspicions about the shortage of ballot papers for the June 3 local elections, has now gone beyond the scope of simple political expression and is producing serious side effects such as paralyzing the work of organizations affiliated with the Korea Sports Council and threatening athletes' right to survival. While a skit unfolds where national fencing teams cannot even find their own equipment and have to borrow other people's items to travel to the international stage, the tightrope walk between the boundaries of the law and civil rights has reached a critical point. It is time to look at the other side of the current conflict and see what kind of balance we should find between claiming legitimate suffrage and violating the rights of others.

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The essence of this situation is that the cause of 'evidence preservation' and the realistic need of 'performance of work' are in direct conflict. Protesters define the shortage of ballots as a sign of election fraud and have a firm belief that ballot boxes and election-related items stored inside the stadium must be strictly guarded. On the other hand, executives and employees of nine sports organizations with offices in the stadium are complaining of a threat to their right to survive as they are unable to handle any public affairs entrusted by the state, such as preparing for international competitions, issuing performance certificates to athletes, and paying salaries. The police attempted to persuade the public through several warning broadcasts, informing them that physical obstruction of entry could constitute obstruction of business under criminal law, but the protesters are stubbornly resisting, considering this to be an illegal abuse of public power. In this way, the parallel lines between the two sides are narrowing the room for dialogue and raising the tension in the field to its peak.

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As the conflict deepens, cracks are forming within the protesters. The protesters, who initially seemed united, are showing signs of internal division as the realistic view of allowing at least some people to enter the area to take out essential goods clashes with the hard-line view that the blockade cannot be lifted under any circumstances. In fact, an equal number of representatives from the police, sports organizations, and protesters were present and a mediation plan was proposed to take out only the goods without filming, but there were many cases where it was aborted due to strong opposition from some participants at the scene. This suggests that an assembly that started with voluntary citizen participation may lose control and degenerate into a dangerous situation in which the so-called 'power of the majority', in which a small number of hardliners influence overall decision-making, overwhelms individual judgment.

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The police authorities did not simply dismiss this incident as a freedom of assembly issue, but began to apply strict standards for judicial action. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeong-bo defined the coercive body search and interrogation of youth handball players as a 'special coercion crime' and warned that it is a serious crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In addition, he announced an active investigation based on evidence regarding assaults on journalists and insults to police officers, sending a strong message that simply sympathizing with illegal activities can lead to disgrace. This is a declaration of the will of public power to protect the right to peaceful assembly and demonstration guaranteed by the Constitution, but not to compromise on illegal acts that violate the rights of others and exercise power.

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The views of the legal and political circles also reflect the seriousness of the situation. Experts point out that although the need to preserve evidence as advocated by the protesters is an issue that can already be fully demonstrated through legal procedures, it is difficult to avoid civil and criminal liability by blocking other people's work in the name of self-reliance. In particular, if sports organizations that have been identified as victims file civil lawsuits, there is a high possibility that criminal charges will be filed first to identify the perpetrators, which could result in a substantial economic and legal burden on protest participants. The process in which the political circles, including the People Power Party, attempted to mediate, but were thwarted by the strong opposition of one or two people, clearly shows how powerless the institutional window to resolve conflicts in our society is currently.

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■ Conclusion and analysis outlook

The blockade of the Jamsil poll counting center left a heavy homework for our society on how to harmonize the two values ​​of ‘freedom of assembly’ and ‘the rule of law.’ Freedom of opinion and expression is a precious value under the Constitution, but its legitimacy loses its luster when it is exercised in a way that tramples on the livelihoods of others or humiliates young athletes. Now is the time to stop further physical confrontation and damage and resolve the problem through legal procedures and reasonable dialogue. There is an urgent need for public authorities to be strict but cautious, and for citizens to be firm but respect the rights of others, with a mature civic consciousness. I hope that the tragedy of national team players borrowing someone else's sword to take the field will no longer be repeated.

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