"Athletes also face secondary damage; allowances and international competitions are all blocked"... One week of blockade protest, sports organizations issue appeal

*This content was translated by AI.

As the blockade protest at the Seoul Songpa-gu Olympic Park Handball Stadium over the shortage of ballots for the the 3rd local elections continues for a week, sports organizations residing in the stadium have appealed, stating that "their livelihoods and safety are being threatened."

On the 11th, sports organizations residing in the handball stadium held a banner reading "We want to return to our workplace" in front of the stadium and issued an appeal calling for the resumption of normal operations.

Staff and employees of the sports organizations raised their voices while holding signs with messages such as "We are also citizens," "Please allow us to do at least some work," and "Sports organization staff are not your enemies. Please guarantee access and work."

Twelve sports organizations, including the Korea Handball Federation, are residing in the handball stadium. However, since the the 3rd local elections, blockade protests have continued in the area around the handball stadium, causing difficulties in normal operations. Inside the stadium, not only office spaces for the organizations but also essential items for accounting and administration, such as corporate cards, OTPs, seals, common authentication certificates, and items for operating competitions and qualification tests, are stored, but currently, access is difficult.

The sports organizations stated that "overall operations of the organizations have been paralyzed, including preparation for the national qualification test for sports instructors, participation in international competitions, operation of domestic competitions, tax payments, payment of allowances to athletes, instructors, and referees, and general corporate administrative work."

The sports organizations had announced the day before, on the 10th, that they would issue an appeal with the participation of about 100 staff members and other sports organization officials.

The sports organizations said, "We respect the citizens' protest actions and do not express any political stance. However, office spaces are not protest sites but workplaces for employees. During the process of attempting to commute and remove items, employees have been exposed to identity checks, bag searches, and verbal abuse, threatening their safety."

They continued, "We have respected the protesters' opinions as much as possible and have made many concessions and engaged in negotiations even under conditions that require conditions to enter our workplace. However, now even entering the workplace is blocked, and employees' livelihoods and safety are being threatened."

They further stated, "Even the minimal request to remove the minimum items necessary for banking operations has been rejected, making it impossible for the organizations to resolve the issue on their own."

The sports organizations requested: resumption of normal operations, the government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to prepare a practical solution, administrative cooperation from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, and a responsible solution from the Songpa-gu Election Management Committee.

Until now, both sides have tried to narrow their differences, but it has not gone as planned. According to the sports organizations, both sides conducted a total of three access negotiations over two days from the 9th to the 10th, but all failed. Various plans were discussed, including limited access for some personnel from each sports organization, police accompaniment, and accompaniment by protest participants, but no agreement was reached on safety issues, filming inside the office, and the scope of item removal.

The sports organizations ultimately proposed to remove only the minimum items necessary for banking operations, such as OTPs, corporate cards, and seals, with protest participants present. However, they explained that even this was not accepted.

The problem is that it is unknown how long the blockade protest will continue. The paralysis of operations for the residing sports organizations could last longer. Currently, these organizations are continuing work through remote work, but some tasks that can only be handled in office spaces are effectively out of reach. As a result, secondary damage is extending to athletes. Since banking operations cannot be conducted, there are delays in paying athlete allowances, and problems may arise in tasks related to participation in international competitions, which are directly linked to athletes' careers.

A representative of a sports organization located near the handball stadium told StarNews on this day, "There are tasks that can only be done in office spaces. To access the international federation website, a PC with a pre-registered IP must be used, but currently, such tasks cannot be performed."

They continued, "It seems that the sports organizations are more frustrated because it is unknown how long the blockade protest will continue. It is literally a situation where they are just pacing back and forth."

Another sports organization representative also told StarNews, "Although the number of employees in each sports organization is not large, there is a significant amount of work to be done. From tax payments to paying allowances for national team athletes, there is even the task of the sports instructor qualification test that must be completed by the end of June. Preparations for international competitions are also ongoing." They added, "For the sports organizations that cannot enter their offices due to the blockade protest, it is truly a major crisis."

They further explained, "If our organization were a residing organization, we would not have been able to handle tasks related to the international competition held next month immediately. There could have been delays in participation in international competitions."

Not only among the residing sports organizations but also around the sports community, there is a view that early mediation and resolution by relevant institutional investors are needed. A sports organization representative said, "The government should resolve this quickly at least," and added, "I hope they will mediate so that the sports organizations and the protesters can meet and negotiate, and I hope the situation will be resolved."

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee released a statement on the 10th, saying, "We are closely monitoring the situation where access to offices of member sports organizations residing in the stadium has been restricted due to recent assemblies and protests in the area around the Olympic Park Handball Stadium, causing difficulties in performing some tasks."

The committee stated, "While respecting the freedom of assembly and protest as a fundamental right of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution and holding no political stance on related matters, we believe that conditions must be secured to allow the removal of minimum administrative items so that normal operations of sports organizations, support for national team training in preparation for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, and the implementation of various sports administrative services, such as the practical oral qualification test for over 70 types of sports instructors, can proceed without delay."

Furthermore, the committee stated, "The committee is closely cooperating with relevant institutional investors, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Sport & Olympic Foundation, and the police, to explore ways to ensure the continuity of operations for member sports organizations and plans to continuously monitor the situation. The committee will continue to actively work with relevant institutional investors in the future to ensure that respect for citizens' fundamental rights and stable operation of sports administration are harmoniously achieved."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.