YouTuber fined for animal abuse caught beating pet dog again in livestream
A YouTuber accused of animal abuse was filmed striking her pet again weeks after prosecutors sought a fine, renewing calls for tougher repeat-offender safeguards.
A YouTuber who was recently finedover animal abuse was seen beating her pet dog again less than a month later, renewing criticism that Korea’s current laws remain inadequate in preventing repeat animal abuse.
The Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office summarily indicted a woman surnamed Son on July 20 for violating the Animal Protection Act and sought a fine of 2 million won ($1,400), according to prosecutors and other sources. A summary indictment is a procedure in which prosecutors ask a court to impose a fine without a formal trial, when they determine that a monetary penalty is appropriate.
Son, who produces so-called Excel broadcasts — livestreams in which participants perform certain actions in response to viewer donations, with donation rankings displayed in a spreadsheet-like format that gives the genre its name — along with content about her daily life on YouTube and other social media platforms. Earlier this year, she repeatedly aired scenes of animal abuse. During one broadcast, she forcibly grabbed her pet dog by the head and struck it several times. Other YouTubers appearing with her poked or hit the dog with sticks.
Less than a month after prosecutors sought the fine, Son was again seen hitting the dog during a livestream on Aug. 12.
“Dogs that bite people need to be hit sometimes,” another YouTuber said during the livestream. “That’s why I got fined [for hitting my dog],” Son replied.
She then petted the dog several times before suddenly striking it. Other YouTubers at the scene, apparently conscious of viewers watching, tried to explain what had happened.
“She hit the sofa, not the dog,” they said, though footage of Son striking the dog remained in the video.
An animal rights group rescued the dog from Son on Saturday and obtained a written agreement from her relinquishing ownership. The dog is currently separated from Son, and she has taken down all of the YouTube videos at issue.
“We have no plans to file an additional complaint, because the dog that suffered abuse has been physically separated from its owner,” the group said, adding that it would continue monitoring the dog’s condition and care. “Based on the dog’s health and the conditions in which it had been kept, we do not believe the abuse was severe. Depending on how the situation develops, there is also a possibility that the dog could eventually be returned to its original owner.”
The case has renewed calls for stronger institutional safeguards against repeat animal abuse as the number of such offenses continues to rise.
According to data obtained from the National Police Agency by the office of People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Park Sung-hoon, 1,238 violations of the Animal Protection Act were reported last year. The number of cases in which suspects were apprehended rose from 805 in 2022 to 972 last year, an increase of more than 20 percent over four years. The number of people referred to prosecutors rose from 579 to 656 over the same period.
A person takes pictures of their dogs during a pet fair in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 23, 2025.NEWS1
The current Animal Protection Act focuses primarily on penalties for acts of abuse and contains no mandatory provision aimed at preventing abusers from reoffending.
“Under current law, courts are not required to issue an animal-keeping ban against a person whose animal abuse conviction has become final,” said Jo Gyeong, a professor of animal welfare at Busan Health University. “Because there are insufficient safeguards to prevent abusers from abusing animals again, such bans should be made mandatory and penalties should be strengthened accordingly.”
Lawmakers are discussing revisions to strengthen animal protection and prevent abuse, but the legislative process has made little progress.
Several proposed amendments to the Animal Protection Act were submitted to the bill review subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee on Aug. 14, but the panel was unable to complete its review. The bills are scheduled to be discussed again on Tuesday.
“Animal abuse cases have been increasing in recent years, and we can no longer treat the issue lightly,” Rep. Park said. “We need to strengthen the relevant laws and establish an effective punishment system so that the principle that ‘those who abuse animals must be held appropriately accountable’ is firmly established.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
