At the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where a blockade protest of the Jamsil vote-counting center over the June 3 local elections has entered its 12th day, lawmakers from the People Power Party and officials from sports organizations attempted to enter but failed.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and officials from individual sports federations tried to enter the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium on the afternoon of the 16th but were blocked by protesters. Having attempted to enter with officials from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee from around 2 p.m., Jang told the protesters around 4 p.m., “It is not a situation in which we can bring the items out right now, so I have taken steps to have the sports association officials withdraw,” before leaving the scene.

Earlier, Jang and People Power Party lawmakers had agreed that two officials from the sports federations with offices in the sealed Handball Gymnasium, along with People Power Party lawmakers, would enter together. This followed requests by the federations inside the gymnasium, who said, “The blockade has paralyzed our work and the damage is growing,” and asked to be allowed in. At the protesters’ request, video journalists from two broadcasters were also to enter to carry a live broadcast from the scene.

Before attempting to enter, around 2 p.m. Jang told the protesters, “As you requested, we will not touch any of the computer equipment inside the Handball Gymnasium,” adding, “We will make sure you can see the items we bring out.”

However, when one protest participant blocked the door, Jang and others were unable to enter the venue. Around 2:50 p.m., Jang again addressed the protesters, saying, “One person is blocking the entrance right now, so we are not in a position to go inside,” and, “We have tried to find every possible way, but if even a single person blocks the door, I have no intention of proceeding by force.” He added, “I will keep trying to persuade you to the end.”

While People Power Party lawmakers tried to persuade the citizen blocking the entrance, the protesters gathered at the doorway chanted, “Preserve evidence.” As the crowd surged toward the door, Jang himself took a megaphone and shouted, “We will not force the door open,” and, “It is dangerous, so please step back a little.” After two hours, however, Jang and others failed to persuade the protesters, and the attempt to enter fell through.