Police have filed for an arrest warrant for a woman dubbed "Ol-darc," who stood alone to block police and sports council officials from entering a counting station without a warrant before the count was finished, successfully protecting the integrity of the ballot boxes during the protest against the June 3 election fraud. Pictured is the woman arriving at the police station on the 10th. [Yonhap News]A ripple of controversy is spreading after the police requested an arrest warrant for a woman who single-handedly blocked police and sports council officials from entering a counting station without a warrant before the election process was complete, thereby protecting the integrity of the ballot boxes during the protest against the June 3 election fraud. 

Under current law, no one is permitted to enter a counting station without a warrant. The National Election Commission (NEC), which has been labeled as a "hotbed of corruption," has claimed unilaterally that the counting had concluded. However, given that the NEC itself sparked controversy by obstructing authorized election observers and proportional representation candidates from entering even while the ballot boxes were still located at the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station, the NEC's claim that the count was finished remains a subject of dispute. 

Consequently, many in the legal community argue that if there was illegality in the election authorities' process of rushing to end the count to cover up potential misconduct, the decision by the sports council and the People Power Party to force their way in without a warrant is arguably a clear violation of current law. Conversely, the woman's actions in blocking them could be interpreted as a constitutional act of resistance to uphold the constitutional order by safeguarding the integrity of the ballot boxes. 

Amidst this, patriotic citizens are outraged that the police applied for an arrest warrant on the 16th for "A," the woman who blocked the sports council and others from forcibly entering the Olympic Park protest site last month. Following the police request, the prosecution also sought an arrest warrant from the court around 6 p.m. that same day, and a date for the substantive warrant review (pretrial interrogation of the suspect) is expected to be set by the court soon. 

According to domestic media reports, the Seoul Songpa Police Station stated that it had requested a preliminary arrest warrant for the woman in her 30s, identified as "A" and nicknamed "Ol-darc," on charges of obstruction of business.

"Ol-darc" (a portmanteau of Olympic Park and Joan of Arc) is the nickname given by patriotic citizens to the woman for single-handedly preventing the forced entry of outsiders and protecting the integrity of the ballot boxes. 

Previously, when arriving at the Songpa Police Station at 4 p.m. on the 10th, "A" stated confidently, "I believed that a court or NEC decision regarding evidence preservation should have been prioritized."

"A" emphasized firmly, "If verification proceeds without adhering to principles and procedures, can any subsequent conclusion be persuasive? I decided that if a price must be paid to protect liberal democracy, I am willing to pay it. That was my mindset on the day I guarded the gate."

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty and Innovation Party (former Acting President and Prime Minister), who is representing "A," condemned the actions of the police under the Lee Jae-myung administration via social media immediately after news of the warrant broke: "They say an arrest warrant has been requested for 'Ol-darc.' Is an arrest a child's game? Arresting her for standing against a wall? Is there evidence to destroy? Is there a risk of flight? This is absurd." 

The police have been investigating "A" since the 17th of last month on allegations of obstruction of business and summoned her for questioning as a suspect on the 10th of this month. 

Meanwhile, domestic media reported that the police have also requested an arrest warrant for one man in his 30s out of five suspects accused of illegally searching the women's junior handball team that entered the handball stadium on the 8th of last month (on charges of special coercion). 

It was also reported that three others suspected of damaging the door to the handball stadium's machine room and breaking in on the 7th of last month (on charges of trespassing and damaging public property) were referred to the prosecution without detention. 

A woman who has been protesting against the disenfranchisement following the June 3 election fraud stands alone to block entry into a counting station without a warrant. [Yonhap News]