Nine South Korean sports federations have now been unable to access their offices in Seoul for 54 days after protesters occupied the area following disputed local elections. With the Asian Games less than two months away, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) is preparing legal action while seeking a safe return to the premises ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Since early June, computers, official documents, team uniforms and sporting equipment have remained inside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium, leaving several federations to operate from temporary offices with limited resources.
In response, the KSOC has adopted a firmer position, exploring both civil and criminal proceedings against those obstructing access to the building. It is also considering seeking compensation from the National Election Commission for losses incurred after the venue was requisitioned as a ballot-counting centre.
The Handball Gymnasium, situated in southern Seoul, was used to count votes following the 3 June local elections. However, two days later, demonstrators claiming electoral fraud and calling for a fresh vote blockaded the entrances after ballot shortages disrupted voting at a number of polling stations.
Although the dispute has no connection to sport, it has severely affected one of the country’s key sporting administration centres. The building houses nine national federations, including handball, fencing, sport climbing, sepak takraw and wushu.
Officials from the affected federations have since raised the matter with the National Assembly, warning that the temporary measures put in place are no longer sustainable and are beginning to undermine their day-to-day operations.
Some athletes have had to compete internationally using borrowed uniforms and equipment. The fencing team, for example, was unable to retrieve some of the material required for the Asian Championships in India. Staff, meanwhile, are working from temporary facilities to process entries, organise tournaments and coordinate national teams.
The repercussions extend beyond elite sport. Computers and records needed to issue sporting achievement certificates used in university admissions and recruitment procedures also remain inside the arena.
Concern is mounting as the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games draw closer. Six of the affected federations will be represented at the event, whose opening ceremony is scheduled for 19 September.
KSOC said it had sought to limit the damage by securing alternative premises and coordinating with the authorities, but acknowledged, “We have been doing everything we can under the circumstances, although we believe these temporary measures have their limits.”
The organisation is preparing another attempt to enter the venue alongside the police and relevant authorities. The aim is to retrieve documents, uniforms, computer equipment and sporting material without provoking clashes or interfering with the parliamentary investigation into the electoral controversy.
