Animal activist leader refuses to step down despite euthanasia scandal
Park So-youn, head of animal activist group Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), gives her account of the alleged euthanasia of rescued animals without CARE staff's knowledge, at a press conference in southern Seoul, Saturday. / Yonhap
By Jung Hae-myoung
Park So-youn, the head of animal rights group Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), is refusing to resign despite the recent protest from group members and supporters over her euthanasia of hundreds of animals.
She made her stance clear at a press conference in southern Seoul, Saturday, her first public appearance since the controversy emerged on Jan. 11. She said she would stay until the group is stabilized and that her mistake had been a lack of communication with staff.
After the press conference, the CARE staff who claim they did not know about the mercy killing, again called for Park's resignation, saying she had made arbitrary decisions.
“Park is trying to justify her indiscriminate behavior (of administering euthanasia). Instead she is saying she will lead the social discussion on animal euthanasia,” a staff member said.
Staff also criticized Park for trying to avoid responsibility.
“She said she did not inform us about the euthanasia just because she was scared of a backlash, but it does not mean killing animals secretly is acceptable,” a staff member said.
Staff plan to propose a resolution to dismiss Park at the group's board meeting in February.
“A thousand donors stopped making donations after the row,” a staff member said. “Park should resign to normalize the group, which is also our final mission.”
Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) and the Korean Animal Welfare Association (KAWA) also made a joint statement calling for Park's resignation.
“The core of this case comes from Park's dogmatism, a lack of communication within the group and a lack of morality,” said a joint statement by the groups. “Park is passing the buck by saying it is not her own problem but a social issue of euthanasia.”
Meanwhile, some other animal protection groups, including the Korea Association for Animal Protection and the Voice for Animals, supported Park, saying the press and society should stop maliciously attacking Park, who had been “sacrificing herself to rescue animals for the past 10 years.”
Earlier this month, Park was accused of euthanizing more than 250 dogs saved from dog farms from 2015 to 2018.
At the press conference, Park claimed what she did was mercy killing, which was different from mass slaughter. She said she hid the truth from group members and the public because she was “scared of getting caught in a controversy like what is happening right now.”
She claimed CARE had rescued the animals mainly from farms that raised dogs for meat, and that there was no option but to euthanize sick or large dogs that were not easily adopted. She claimed all the dogs would have been killed if not rescued.
“We could save 80 percent of the rescued animals and could send (kill) the rest 20 percent without pain,” she said. “That was the minimum animal protection activity we could do in this country,” she said.
On Friday, some animal rights groups filed a complaint with the prosecution against Park alleging fraud, embezzlement and violation of the Animal Protection Law.