The 2024 Dog Lovers' Day and Golden Dog Awards Ceremony ended with applause. This year's ceremony was held at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. The following is the full report from Chosun Ilbo:
The lawmakers who led the legislation against eating dog meat won the Golden Dog Award
Han Jung-ae, Lee Heon-seung, Park Hong-geun and Jo Hee-kyung from the KAWA (Korea Animal Welfare Association) all received an award.
On the afternoon of the 25th, at the Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, the winners of the "Golden Dog Award" were taking a group photo. / Reporter Jiang Yushi
The lawmakers who proposed the "Dog Meat Ban Special Bill", passed by the National Assembly in January this year, received an award from the World Dog Alliance (WDA). The WDA was established in 2014. The association has offices in many countries overseas, including the United States, France, Hong Kong, and Japan. It has carried out publicity activities to ban the consumption of dog meat and lobbied various countries for legislation.
On the afternoon of the 25th, WDA held the "Golden Dog Award Ceremony" at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. Han Jung-ae, Park Hong-geun, members of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee Heon-seung, member of the People's Power Party, and Jo Hee-kyung, the representative of KAWA (Korea Animal Welfare Association), each received the award.
At the award ceremony, Han Jung-ae said, "I was moved to think of the scene of people shouting on the asphalt road in the hot summer to eliminate the consumption of dog meat. The National Assembly is working to implement the law to ban the consumption of dog meat ahead of the scheduled implementation date of 2027." Park Hong-geun said, "When asked whether the Republic of Korea, which has achieved global economic development, is a developed country, eating dog meat has become a stumbling block," and said, "For the welfare of animals in the Republic of Korea, we will move forward unswervingly." Lee Heon-seung said, "It is very difficult to end the long-standing culture of eating dogs through social consultation. In the future, the National Assembly and civic groups will need to continue to work together to improve animal welfare."
WDA founder Genlin said, "Thanks to the wisdom and ability of the Korean National Assembly, the government, and related practitioners, South Korea will completely ban the consumption of dog meat in three years." "South Korea's historic milestone of banning the consumption of dog meat will also have a great impact on the amendment of laws in China, where there is a strong dog meat industry."
The three lawmakers are co-representatives of the National Animal Welfare Forum. After Han Jung-ae initiated the bill to ban the consumption of dog meat in June last year, Park Hong-geun and Lee Heon-seung, who led the "Bipartisan Alliance to Ban the Consumption of Dog Meat", co-sponsored the bill on January 9th. The bill was passed with 208 votes in favor and two abstentions, with 210 of the 298 registered lawmakers present.
Representative Jo Hee-kyung said, "I am grateful to the animal rights activists who worked so hard to pass the law banning the consumption of dog meat," and "I will spare no effort to complete the final work so that the law can be well enforced within three years." At the award ceremony that day, former US Congressman Kim Chang-jun, vice president of the Kim Chang-jun Korea-America Institute Ms. Jennifer Ahn, actor Jeon Roh-min, singer Lee Jang-won, and the Bae Da-hae couple also attended.
The "Dog Meat Ban Special Bill" that was passed on January 9 this year prohibits the breeding, slaughtering, distribution, and sale of dogs for the purpose of eating. Those who slaughter dogs for the purpose of eating will be sentenced to a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won. Those who breed and distribute dogs may be sentenced to a prison term of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won. The law will take effect in 2027, three years after it is enacted.
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