Kim Dong-yeon: "Yeoju Pet Theme Park Opening Next Year Will Become the Mecca of South Korea"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon expressed strong determination to make this place the mecca of companion animals in South Korea during a meeting held at the Yeoju Companion Animal Theme Park on the 24th.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, announced that he is exploring various ways to utilize the 'Pet Theme Park' in Yeoju, which will open next year, to make it the mecca of pet culture in South Korea.

On the 24th, Governor Kim held a 'Pet Welfare Policy Meeting' at the Yeoju Pet Theme Park with university students majoring in pet-related fields, animal protection organizations, and experts. He said, "In line with the growing public interest in pets and the various directions we need to take, I hope the Pet Theme Park will be utilized in the most efficient way."

He added, "Through organizational restructuring, we plan to change the Livestock and Forestry Bureau to the Livestock Animal Welfare Bureau," explaining, "The name 'Animal Welfare Bureau' will probably be the first of its kind in South Korea, both at the central government and metropolitan levels (Gyeonggi Province being the first)."

He further stated, "We will strive to ensure that this place (Yeoju Pet Theme Park) is not operated out of inertia like other public institutions but becomes a space mainly participated in and operated by people who love pets and have a sense of mission," and requested, "A comprehensive perspective beyond the scope of specific civil servant categories is necessary. Please provide generous advice on how to operate it."

Participants at the meeting offered various opinions, ranging from efficient operation plans for the Pet Theme Park to suggestions on Gyeonggi Province's animal protection and welfare policies.

Professor Oh Hee-kyung of Jangan University said, "I expect the Pet Theme Park to play a pivotal role in fostering a proper pet culture, including pet protection, and furthermore, to significantly contribute to job creation in related fields."

Jeon Jin-kyung, CEO of Animal Rights Action Kara, urged, "Rather than trading and selling pets through pet shops, I ask Gyeonggi Province to take a more active role in promoting a culture of adopting abandoned animals."

In addition, participants proposed ideas such as ▲ establishing the Pet Theme Park as a hub for pet culture ▲ optimizing facilities for timely treatment of abandoned animals ▲ promoting education for new professions like animal health technicians ▲ discovering related projects to foster the pet industry.

The province plans to collect and review the opinions raised at the meeting and reflect them in the future direction of the Pet Theme Park's operation and pet protection and welfare policies.

Meanwhile, the Pet Theme Park, created in the Sanggeo-dong area of Yeoju City with the goal of realizing a "world where people and animals are happy together," is a specialized complex education and cultural space for pets and will begin full-scale operation next year.

Here, activities will include protecting abandoned animals and free adoption, education and aftercare for adoptive families, volunteer support, life respect education, training of related experts, and fostering the pet industry.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.