48 riot police units to be deployed during local election ballots inspection

Forty-eight riot police units will be deployed to maintain order during a special counsel team’s inspection of ballots cast in the June 3 local elections, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said on Tuesday.

Special counsel Lee Tae-han’s team is set to visit the SK Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday to examine 2.47 million ballots, surveillance camera footage and other material as part of its probe into an unprecedented shortage of ballots during the local elections.

The gymnasium served as a vote-counting center and continues to house 2.47 million ballot papers cast in the district, as protesters have blocked their removal following calls for accountability and a rerun of the elections.

The SMPA said that it will deploy 48 riot police units, 150 police officers tasked with dialogue and mediation and 300 detectives and investigators to the site, following a request from Lee’s team to help maintain order during the inspection.

The total size of the police force is expected to be around 3,330, as a riot police unit typically consists of some 60 members.

“We plan to respond strictly, in accordance with the law and principles, to anyone who disrupts the special counsel’s verification work and tasks necessary for the investigation, as well as to illegal acts such as assault, defamation or coercion against the police and public servants,” the SMPA said in a notice to the press.

Yonhap