President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and first lady Kim Keon Hee pose for a photo with Sunny and a retired guide dog, named Saeromi (ground), at Yongsan Children’s Garden in front of the presidential office in Seoul on May 4, 2023, in this photo provided by the presidential office.
SEOUL, May 28 (Korea Bizwire) — President Yoon Suk Yeol and his adopted Labrador retriever appeared Sunday on a TV show featuring scenes of the dog adjusting to his new home at the presidential office.
The retired service dog, named Saeromi, was adopted by Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee on Christmas Eve last year, becoming the first couple’s 11th pet.
Yoon introduced himself as “the father” to Saeromi as he appeared with Kim on the local broadcaster SBS, saying that he had wanted to adopt a guide dog since he visited a service dog training school as presidential candidate.
When asked why they decided to raise so many, the first lady opened up about how adopting the pets helped them to cope with their experience of a miscarriage.
“When we lost our baby, (Yoon) went through an extremely difficult time emotionally, but when we adopted the abandoned dogs, he really grew fond of them and in those brief moments he prepared to feed them, he’d forget about the pain,” she said.
Yoon and his wife are known to live with six dogs — Saeromi, Tory, Narae, Mari, Sunny and Olly — and five cats since they tied the knot in 2012.
(Yonhap)
