Veterinarian was also angry at Lee Gyeong-gyu's 'muzzle remark'

Broadcaster Lee Gyeong-gyu expressed his disappointment in not putting a muzzle on his Jindo dog, which drew backlash from some dog owners.

On the 10th, a video titled ‘Finding someone who respects their dog well when walking’ was uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘Lekeuk Lee Kyung-gyu’.

The content featured the concept of 'Find the best pet ticket', including pet tickets, and wearing muzzles for vicious dogs. Kyung-gyu Lee said, “In an era where there are 15 million pets, there are many people who go out and walk with their pets,” and observed a walking trail looking for dogs and their owners wearing manner water (water to dilute dog urine), dog tags, and muzzles.

In particular, regarding the muzzle, Lee Gyeong-gyu said, "There are dogs that have to wear a muzzle, but it is okay not to wear one." He added, "It is okay for Jindo dogs not to wear a muzzle by law, but when other people see them, they may think, 'That looks a bit threatening,' so they wear a muzzle. “There are cases where people wear it, so they are objects of respect,” he claimed.

Next, Lee Gyeong-gyu, who saw dog owners walking their Jindo dogs without muzzles, lamented, “It’s a shame.” At the same time, he looked at a Jindo dog and said, “He seems to be kind. I get along well with people. “Then there is no need to do it,” he said, sighing, “I will turn away (since there is no owner with a muzzle).”

In particular, large dogs such as Samoyeds and Malamutes were captured on camera, but Lee Gyeong-gyu did not express any regrets about wearing muzzles for these dog breeds, leading to a rather harsh response, saying, “Isn’t this an aversion to Jindo dogs?”

As the controversy grew, the production team of 'Respect Refrigerator' posted in the video comments and YouTube community section, "We deeply apologize for hurting many pet owners by narrowly showing Jindo dog owners in this video with content related to wearing dog muzzles." An apology letter was posted.

The production team added, “In the future, our production team will take into account the diverse perspectives and emotions of viewers and be more careful in producing content that resonates with them. Once again, we sincerely apologize to the pets who were hurt.”

In response, veterinarian Seol Chae-hyeon posted on her Instagram on the 14th, "Which is more disrespectful to the other person: not wearing a muzzle when a dog is not required to wear one, or being filmed without consent and evaluated in a video seen by many? “I don’t know,” he posted.

Ryu Ye-ji, Ten Asia Reporter ryuperstar@tenasia.co.kr