Gwangju's Path to Becoming a Pet-Friendly City Is Long... Budget Criticized as 'Meager'

Kim Tae-jin, Seo-gu Council Member, Urges Immediate Budget and Ordinance Enactment

Kim Tae-jin, a member of the Gwangju Seo-gu Council, argued that increasing the related budget and enacting ordinances are urgent for Gwangju to become a pet-friendly city. Photo by Kim Tae-jin

It has been argued that in order for Gwangju to become a pet-friendly city, the animal welfare budgets of the autonomous districts must be increased and the enactment of ordinances is also urgent.

Kim Tae-jin, a member of the Gwangju Seo-gu Council (Progressive Party), pointed out in a 5-minute free speech at the 1st plenary session of the 327th regular meeting that "the pure district-funded animal welfare budget of the five autonomous districts in Gwangju is only 35.36 million won," and raised his voice saying, "To support this, budget increases and ordinance enactments must follow."

As of November, the number of registered pets in Gwangju Metropolitan City was 77,555, which has nearly doubled from about 40,000 in 2019 over the recent five years (2020?2024).

Councilor Kim pointed out, "The pure district-funded animal welfare projects in each autonomous district of Gwangju include 10 million won for Gwangsan-gu’s pet culture class, 3.66 million won for Seo-gu’s pet culture class and 6.3 million won for medical expenses for pets of vulnerable groups, and 5.4 million won for Dong-gu’s medical expenses for pets of vulnerable groups, showing that there is still a long way to go for a pet-friendly city."

He also claimed, "Among the five autonomous districts, only Seo-gu, Dong-gu, and Nam-gu have ordinances related to pet medical expense support projects that are effective in reducing abandoned animals, and Nam-gu has never reflected the budget since the ordinance was enacted, leaving it as a nominal ordinance."

Councilor Kim said, "To become a pet-friendly city, it is necessary to activate education and publicity through pure district budgets without relying on national or city funds, and to establish dog parks and adoption centers in each autonomous district."

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