A woman in her 30s appeared in court on July 21 for a warrant review after allegedly blocking access to the Olympic Park handball venue, which was used as a ballot counting center for the June 3 local elections.
Judge Seo Beom-jun of the Seoul Eastern District Court began the warrant review for the woman, identified as A, at 2:30 p.m. on charges of obstructing business.
Earlier, police applied for a pre-arrest warrant for A on July 16, and prosecutors filed for the arrest on the same day.
Upon arriving at the court at 2:24 p.m., A declined to answer reporters' questions about what she would present during the review and whether she acknowledged the charges against her, proceeding directly into the courtroom.
A is accused of obstructing business for approximately two hours on June 16, when she and other protesters prevented members of a sports organization, including the leader of the People Power Party, Jang Dong-hyuk, from entering the venue. Despite attempts by Jang and Yoo Seung-min, president of the Korean Sports Council, to persuade her, A insisted that procedures to secure the ballots and ballot boxes must be completed first, ultimately preventing access to the handball venue.
Some have referred to A as the 'Joan of Arc of Olympic Park,' coining the term 'Oldark.'
The court is also reviewing warrants for a man in his 30s accused of illegally searching the junior women's handball team that entered the venue and for three men in their 20s who insulted police officers and blocked their path at the ballot counting site on July 6.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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