Initially, Lotte World promised to release the beluga whale to a wildlife sanctuary by the end of last year, but this promise has not yet been fulfilled. (Image courtesy of Hot Pink Dolphins)
SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – Activists from an environmental activist group, rallying to urge Lotte World to release a beluga whale kept at its aquarium, have been handed over to the prosecution.
On Wednesday, Seoul’s Songpa Police Station announced that it had handed over eight activists from the marine environmental civic group ‘Hot Pink Dolphins’ to the prosecution for business obstruction and property damage.
The activists held a rally advocating for the release of the beluga whale for about one minute. They affixed a banner with the message ‘Stop the exhibition of the beluga whale instantly’ onto the exhibition water tank within Lotte World Aquarium in Jamsil, Seoul, on December 16, 2022.
Lotte World filed a complaint against them with the police, stating, “Their rally caused approximately 700 million won in damages to the external wall of the water tank, resulting in the beluga whale’s distress and obstructing spectators from using the exhibition.”
In response, Hot Pink Dolphins claimed that Lotte is exaggerating the damages estimate to silence the citizens calling for the implementation of their promise to release the whale and weaken their activities.
Hot Pink Dolphin members attach a banner on a glass wall of the aquarium. (Photo: a screenshot from Hot Pink Dolphin’s Youtube channel)
They emphasized that the adhesive used to attach the banner was a 3M product available at stationery stores that can be easily removed.
However, the police handed them over to the prosecution based on the judgment that Lotte’s claim of property damage was valid.
One of the eight environmental activists handed over to the prosecution is a teenager. Previously, Lotte emphasized that it had submitted a petition to request favorable arrangements for the teenager.
Out of the 10 members of Hot Pink Dolphins, two, including the president, were not handed over to the prosecution since they did not directly participate in the rally.
Lotte World Aquarium imported three beluga whales from Russia when it opened in 2014.
After two male whales died in 2016 and 2019, causing controversy over animal abuse, Lotte World decided to release ‘Bella,’ the last survivor of the three beluga whales, in October 2019.
Initially, Lotte World promised to release the beluga whale to a wildlife sanctuary by the end of last year, but this promise has not yet been fulfilled.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
