Moon expresses willingness to adopt dogs gifted by North Korean leader if gov't revises law

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- Former President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday he wishes to officially adopt, if possible, a pair of dogs gifted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, one day after he returned them to the government citing legal grounds and a lack of support.

"I initially wanted to adopt the pets in a way that endows me with clear ownership of them," Moon wrote on his Facebook page.

Moon's side delivered the dogs to officials of the Presidential Archives at a university veterinary hospital in Daegu, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday. The destination of the dogs remains undecided.

The move drew criticism, largely from ruling political conservatives, that he was abandoning the companion animals that he had kept for about four years because of financial issues.

The indigenous North Korean Pungsan-breed dogs, one male named Songkang and a female named Gomi, were given by the North's leader after an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in 2018.

On Monday, Moon's side said it wanted to return the dogs, citing a lack of support from the Yoon Suk-yeol government.

Under the Presidential Records Act, the North Korean dogs, classified as government property, were supposed to be returned to the Presidential Archives after his retirement.

But the Presidential Archives signed an agreement with Moon to entrust the dogs to him on May 9, the last day of his five-year tenure, due to its absence of facilities to breed animals and from the viewpoint of animal welfare.

In order for Moon to keep the dogs, the state has to revise the Presidential Records Act's enforcement ordinance. But the revision has not been implemented due to "unexplained objection" from the presidential office, Moon's side said.

In his Facebook post, Moon slammed the political circles for politicizing the issue, saying it could have been easily resolved if the current government had amended the law according to the initial plan or came up with other ways to manage the dogs.

"Let's stop. If the dogs cannot be up for adoption to me, the current government should take the responsibility for raising and managing them," Moon said, calling for a revision of the enforcement ordinance as similar cases could happen in the future.

Park Jeong-ha, spokesperson of the ruling People Power Party, however, said Moon should not mention a lack of related regulations if he had thought of the dogs as his family.

Regarding the idea that President Yoon could take the animals, Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-ki ruled out the possibility, saying Yoon is already raising 10 companion dogs and cats.

nyway@yna.co.kr
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