Dear Mr. Lee-Kun-Hee,

As a respected leader of a global industry you will appreciate the importance of a company’s reputation, not only within South Korea but throughout the world.

I believe you would therefore not want to be associated in any way with the illegal and inhumane torture and consumption of companion animals. Yet despite growing opposition from pet owners within South Korea and across the world, the brutal slaughter of dogs and cats across South Korea continues, and is severely tarnishing the names and therefore the revenues of leading South Korean companies such as your own. Indeed, there are currently a growing number of campaigns in several countries to boycott South Korean goods until the government puts an end to these abhorrent and outmoded practices, so out of touch with the Global Community.

If the case for compassion were not sufficiently compelling, with the prevalence of social media the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies and activities on the business bottom line is increasingly important, as I am sure you are aware.  Given the social, environmental, and health problems associated with the dog-meat industry, it is in South Korea’s socio-economic interests to end the dog-meat trade because the world will stop condemning South Korea for its cruelty, and instead applaud and reward it for its compassion.

Dog-meat consumption is currently illegal in South Korea yet it is allowed to continue. With the Winter Olympics coming up in 2018, the world will be watching. I urge you therefore to use your considerable influence to ask the government to enforce the law, not ignore it, and bring this inhumanity to an end.

South Korea has many noble and admirable qualities. The torture and consumption of companion animals is not one of them.

Thank you for your time and understanding.