Sealed Handball Gymnasium opens for 70 minutes as sports groups retrieve essentials ahead of Asian Games

Sports organizations retrieved essential administrative materials and national team equipment Tuesday from the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, which has been sealed off for 95 days amid protests over the June 3 local elections — just 11 days before the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games open.

Officials from nine sports organizations under the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) based at the Handball Gymnasium, including the Korea Handball Federation, Korea Fencing Federation and Korea Alpine Federation, entered their offices Tuesday morning with police assistance and removed work computers, official seals, bankbooks, national team uniforms and equipment.

It was their first access in 95 days since protesters began blockading the gymnasium, used as a ballot-counting center for the June 3 local elections, following the election's ballot shortage incident. The entry also came 84 days after an attempt by the KSOC to enter the building failed on June 16.

The retrieval operation took place under tight security to prevent clashes.

Police deployed 28 mobile police units and detectives, totaling around 1,830 personnel, to cordon off the area surrounding the gymnasium. Officers formed a human chain to secure a route for the removal of the items, while four layers of police lines were installed around the area where ballot boxes were stored.

Employees of the sports organizations entered their offices at 9:20 a.m. and spent about one hour and 10 minutes loading computer towers, monitors and accounting records from cabinets onto trucks using boxes and carts.

Some protesters behind barricades strongly objected during the operation, shouting, “Check what’s inside the boxes.” The work was also briefly delayed as People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok, who visited the site, addressed the crowd.

The entire operation was completed at around 10:30 a.m. without physical clashes or injuries.

The retrieval provided some relief to the sports organizations, which had struggled to keep their operations running during the prolonged blockade.

The nine organizations had been completely barred from their offices and had been forced to conduct their work without official seals or accounting records. In particular, they faced the prospect of being unable to issue student-athletes’ competition records, essential documents for the upcoming university admissions process in the fall. Payments of national team allowances and arrangements for flights and visas had also been disrupted.

At the Asian Fencing Championships in June, national team athletes, who were unable to retrieve their competition equipment, had to borrow sabers from other athletes to compete.

The government's delayed response also drew criticism during a plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

“Keeping national team equipment and documents locked away for nearly 100 days ahead of a major international competition amounts to a serious dereliction of duty,” lawmakers said.

Officials at the scene expressed relief following Tuesday's operation.

“There were many difficulties during the office blockade, as we had to borrow necessary items or purchase additional ones, but being able to retrieve essential items today has greatly eased our concerns compared to before,” an official from the Korea Handball Federation said.

The fencing federation also showed relief, despite having been able to take out the most urgent items, including equipment for athletes such as blades, fencing uniforms, and fencing socks.

“We have been working without our bankbooks or official seals, so it is a great relief to finally have them," an official from the Korea Fencing Federation said. "We were also able to retrieve documents related to university admissions, so fortunately the athletes should not face problems.”

An official from the Korea Alpine Federation said they felt more at ease ahead of the Asian Games.

“We are especially relieved that we were able to retrieve the uniforms that our national team athletes will wear at the Asian Games," the official said. 

Tuesday's operation, however, amounted to only a temporary solution. The gymnasium's entrances were sealed off again immediately after the essential items were removed, and the organizations were able to retrieve only a small portion of their belongings.

A full return to their offices is unlikely until the special counsel investigation into the National Election Commission over controversies surrounding the local election vote count is completed.

“The items we retrieved will make the temporary offices we have been using even more cramped,” a KSOC official said. “We are considering using some of the KSOC's meeting rooms as additional temporary office space.”

BY LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]