The National Assembly decided on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, to stop killing dogs for food.

They passed a special law that punishes people who do this.

However, the punishment is said to come into effect starting from 2027 and onwards.

The law says that dog farmers or butchers who are caught killing dogs for food will either pay up to 30 million won as a fine or go to jail for up to three years.

People who are caught illegally farming, breeding, or selling dogs can be put in jail for up to two years or be fined up to 20 million won.

Dog farmers and restaurant owners will have three years to close their businesses completely. After that, the police will start punishing people who break the law starting from 2027.

Farmers and restaurant owners must register their businesses with local authorities so that they can keep track of these businesses.

However, people who choose to eat dog meat will not be punished.

Back in November, there were 1,150 dog farms and 1,600 restaurants serving dog meat.

Additionally, 209 distributors and 34 butchering businesses are still active.

A new study on Monday asked 2,000 people in South Korea between the ages of 20 and 69 about eating dog meat.

The results showed that 90 percent of people said they would never eat dog meat.

Adding on, 94.5 percent said they hadn't eaten dog meat in the past year.

Half of the respondents agreed with the law banning dog meat, and the majority, who had not eaten dog meat in a while, had the biggest voice.

However, one in three people believed that we shouldn’t ban it, even if people don’t consume dog meat.

The survey was done by a group called Animal Welfare Awareness, Research, and Education, who care about the rights of animals.

A total of 208 lawmakers voted for the bill, and only 2 lawmakers chose not to vote.

A part of the legislation said, “This law is aimed at contributing to realizing the values of animal rights, which pursue respect for life and a harmonious co-existence between humans and animals.”

It's rare for both the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea to agree on something, but they both supported this bill.

It is common for both the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea (all part of the government) to disagree, which is why their agreement on the bill came as a surprise to most people.

Along with the bill on dog meat, a series of bills were also passed for the establishment of an independent space and aerospace agency.

On the other hand, there was no re-vote for two special investigation bills during the session on the 9th —with one of these bills aiming to investigate stock manipulation involving the First Lady.

The Democratic Party strongly opposed holding the re-vote on Tuesday, claiming that it was an attempt to use the issue for political gain before the upcoming parliamentary election in April.

Lastly, bills that were previously vetoed by President Yoon were sent back to the National Assembly after an initial vote in December 2023.

Nicole Kim

Grade 6

Korea International School