Animal rights groups stage a rally near the presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, on Jan. 12, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The chief policymaker of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said Thursday that the party will seek to enact a special law aimed at rooting out dog meat consumption.
Dog meat consumption has dramatically declined in recent decades amid perceptions that the tradition is becoming an international embarrassment. Still, advocates argue people should have the freedom to choose what they eat.
“We need to put an end to any more debate on dog meat consumption,” DP Rep. Kim Min-seok said in a party meeting, mentioning how South Korea is bidding to bring the World Expo to the southeastern port city of Busan and how its pop culture has become a global phenomenon.
Noting how dog meat consumption has been used as a source of discrimination against football superstar Son Heung-min, Kim said the special law could be seen as an “act to prevent discrimination against Son Heung-min.”
The envisioned special law will ban illegal breeding of dogs as well as butchery and consumption of dog meat while providing support measures for people working in the dog meat industry to find new jobs, according to Kim.
Kim said he anticipates the government, ruling party and presidential office will cooperate on forming social consensus on the issue.
In June last year, first lady Kim Keon Hee also called for an end to dog meat consumption in an interview, saying South Korea and China are the only countries among big economies where people eat dog meat.
(Yonhap)
