Three Participants in Animal Abuse Photo and Video Sharing Chatroom Referred to Prosecution

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Participants in an online group chat room that shared videos and photos of animal abuse have been handed over to the prosecution.

On the 19th, the Seongdong Police Station in Seoul announced that they had sent a man in his 20s, Lee Mo, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act and the Act on the Protection and Management of Wildlife.

Lee is accused of abusing animals such as dogs and cats, taking photos afterward, and distributing them in a KakaoTalk open chat room called "Gore Jeonmunbang" (Gore Specialty Room). The police also sent two other participants, out of about 80 in the chat room, who were judged to have committed offenses.

In the chat room, methods of capturing animals, ways to amputate body parts, and personal experiences were shared, and numerous actual photos and videos of animal abuse were reportedly posted.

Civil organizations such as Animal Freedom Union reported the chat room to the police in January of this year, and the police launched a formal investigation including a KakaoTalk seizure. The chat room has since disappeared. A petition on the Blue House website demanding strict punishment for those involved has garnered over 270,000 signatures.

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