To the Daewoo Group, 

You claim that your company has a “fierce commitment to innovation”.  Innovation: to ‘make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods and ideas’.

This is an excellent philosophy; and one which we hope that, as a company which originates from South Korea, you will now choose to put into practice to help overturn the established ideas of many of your citizens.  We are looking for you to introduce a new compassion so that your people and your country will make changes in order to bring an end to the immoral, shocking and brutal practices that are “day in, day out” being carried out, within all parts of the dog and cat meat trade.

South Korea is the only country in the world which commercially farms cats and dogs to supply the nation’s demand; and the brutalization of these helpless animals is appalling, and the suffering which they experience is immense.

Within the thousands of farms, ranging in size from small, backyard enterprises to huge concerns, every year many millions of animals are bred and reared, and kept in completely inhumane and pitiful conditions: with dogs being raised in small, filthy, barren cages, with no reprieve from hunger or fear.  They endure all of this before they are finally condemned to hideous deaths, by horrendous and deliberately prolonged methods of slaughter - carried out like this solely because of false ideas - breeding and slaughtering methods which are illegal and completely unacceptable by any human standards.

We know that dedicated, caring people in South Korea have been asking their Government to ban this atrocity for many years, but the Government has yet to take a leadership role in this matter; and it is hard to believe, in the twenty-first century, that a civilized nation such as South Korea, which is one of the major economic world powers, and also boasts one of the highest educational levels in the world, is still committing this type of unnecessary and despicable cruelty.

The dog meat trade is a two billion dollar industry, but South Korea could stand to lose considerably more in terms of export revenue, goodwill and its positive image within the international community if this appalling industry is not stopped; and if South Korea wants to join civilized nations around the world, and be respected as a nation of conscience, then it needs to strengthen and, importantly, enforce its animal protection laws. 

Daewoo is a top Korean company; it has many subsidiaries and branches throughout the world and it is a household name everywhere - it has the power to change this tragic and cruel situation; and we are surprised that such a powerful and influential company is not already doing something about this abhorrence.  It is shameful.

As with other Korean companies, Daewoo relies heavily on the foreign and export market, but many people across the globe, because of their great love for dogs, will either continue, or decline, to support your corporation depending on how you now decide to act with regards to the animal rights and welfare issues in your country.  Surely you would wish to keep your company’s image a positive one - one that remains a household name?

As a representative company of your country, you have a moral duty to be proactive in this matter.  We implore you, Daewoo, to show us that you are a “high value” corporation, one that world consumers “can trust” to do what is right: you must urge the South Korean Government to put an end to the dog and cat meat trade once and for all.

With the upcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the eyes of the world will be on Korea; now is the time to take action: South Korea has to permanently ban the consumption of dog and cat meat.