Parliamentary committee conducts 1st on-site inspection at blockaded vote counting site

Members of a special parliamentary committee investigating ballot shortages that marred the June 3 local elections on Thursday entered a vote counting venue that has long been barricaded by angry protesters to prevent the removal of ballot boxes stored inside. The on-site inspection came 27 days after protesters demanding a rerun of the elections began blockading the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southern Seoul on June 5, two days after ballot shortages temporarily suspended voting at polling stations across the nation. Police cleared protesters from the entrance to the stadium, which served as a ballot counting site on election day, to allow committee members access to the stadium. A man in his 60s was arrested on charges of obstructing official duties after allegedly pushing police officers while trying to prevent them from clearing the entrance. Led by the committee chief, Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the main opposition People Power Party, lawmakers inspected a basement storage area where around 380 ballot boxes, some 2.47 million ballots and voting logs were stored. The committee said