Kim Keon-hee, “The president wants to ban dog meat, too.”

First lady Kim Keon-hee speaks at a press conference calling for the end of dog meat at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on August 30. Yonhap News

President Yoon Suk-yeol is a well-known pet owner who raises eleven pet animals: six dogs and five cats. His nickname is “Tory’s dad” after the name of one of his dogs. Then when will the time come—when President Yoon personally says, “Let’s put an end to dog meat.”

It’s uncertain. President Yoon once mentioned the issue of dog meat in the last presidential election. In a TV debate of preliminary candidates of the People Power Party (PPP) in November 2021, he said, “I don’t think individually opposing it (dog meat) would work.” But at the same time, he added, “There should be a social consensus of many people to take action with a state policy.” However, during the debate, Yoon mentioned that dogs for dog meat were raised separately and was actually attacked by animal rights groups for his contradicting views. The argument that dogs raised for dog meat were different from those raised as pets was one usually presented by people in favor of dog meat.

As President Yoon remains silent on this issue, his wife, first lady Kim Keon-hee is taking a more active stance. On August 30, the People’s Movement to End the Consumption of Dog Meat (People’s Movement) held a press conference at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. They argued, “The National Assembly must pass a special act to end the consumption of dog meat and related bills within this term,” and said, “The government should also prepare a national plan and aggressively manage and supervise illegal activities.”

The press conference seemed to end with participants making individual remarks and collectively shouting a slogan. But towards the end, there was a sudden round of applause and cheers, followed by the appearance of first lady Kim Keon-hee. The room stirred at the surprise and unannounced arrival of the first lady. When the moderator handed the microphone over to her, she said, “We all know and feel what a sad and earnest heart we carried with us to this venue today.” She described the present age as one where humans and animals coexisted and said, “I think the consumption of illegal dog meat should be eliminated absolutely.” She also said, “I will become friends with these people and campaign and work until the consumption of dog meat is put to an end. I promise.” She then painted a white dog on the back of her hand on site and moved to a private meeting room.

The event was notable in two aspects. First, the first lady is becoming more active. Her appearance at the press conference itself wasn’t so surprising since she has consistently argued for the end of dog meat. But what drew the public’s eyes was that the first lady, who had “unofficially” taken part in various events organized by animal rights groups in the past, publicly appeared for the first time this day. The People’s Movement had not asked the first lady to attend the event. A representative of the group said, “After hearing about the event, the Office of the President first informed us of the first lady’s wish to attend.” Word had it that the People’s Movement was also somewhat surprised at Kim’s appearance.

Second, first lady Kim had a private meeting with the representatives of the People’s Movement after the press conference, and the president was mentioned in the meeting. According to several people who attended the meeting, questions were asked about the president’s thoughts and determination on banning dog meat. They also expressed their frustration due to the president’s silence. The first lady said that the president was determined to ban dog meat within his term (according to A, a participant in the meeting) and that the president continues to be interested in the issue and has plans to promote a ban on dog meat (relayed by B, another participant). In other words, President Yoon wanted to end the consumption of dog meat.

First lady Kim’s actions are getting bolder, and this can be interpreted in a number of ways. First, since this is an issue that Kim has shown strong interest in and has been very affectionate about, the president could have left this issue into her hands. In other words, when it comes to banning dog meat, the first lady and the president seem to see eye to eye. Coincidently, after the first lady made the public appearance, the PPP proposed a special bill to end the consumption of dog meat. The lawmakers that proposed the bill said it was a legislation they had prepared from way back, but some politicians suggested that they were trying to win Yoon’s heart for candidate nominations in next year’s parliamentary elections. This is also why the media refer to the special bill as the Kim Keon-hee bill.

Another interpretation is that the first lady was put in charge of the dog meat issue, since it would be less of a political burden than when the president personally handled the issue. According to a 2021 survey by Gallup Korea, 60-70% of the people had negative opinions on the consumption of dog meat, but the percentage of people for and against a legal ban on dog meat did not show much of a difference.

Given that there are still more than a few farms that raise dogs for meat and restaurants that sell dog soup, and that the people who mostly enjoy dog meat are in their sixties and seventies, an age group with many of President Yoon’s supporters, the president could face a bigger political burden ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections if he personally promotes a ban on dog meat. One representative of the opposition said, “In the case of legislation to end the consumption of dog meat, there is definitely the possibility of gaining support from citizens who raise pet dogs,” and added, “With the first lady taking action, they could secure such support while minimizing the opposition.”