Animal rights lawyer becomes voice for the voiceless

Animal rights lawyer Park Joo-yeon files a bill of complaint on animal cruelty to stray cats from Seoul's Dongmyo Market at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, Nov. 23, 2020. Courtesy of Park Joo-yeon

By Lee Hae-rin

Animals are much loved and hated at the same time in Korea ― one in every four Koreans lives with companion animals, while over two million dogs are slaughtered every year for dog meat and animals are stipulated as objects under the current legal system.

Park Joo-yeon, an attorney at Law Firm DIRECTION, is one of the first lawyers here who has been defending the rights of animals under such harsh circumstances. Based on her decade-long experience in efforts to elevate the legal status of animals, Park takes an in-depth look at the evolution of the Animal Protection Act (APA) and maps out its future in her latest book, "They Are Not Things," published last Monday.

Park decided to speak up for animals after coming across a horrific video of animal cruelty in 2012, when she became a lawyer, because "no living and sentient being deserves to be treated that way," she wrote.

Since then, she has worked with a domestic animal advocacy group called Korean Animal Rights Advocates (KARA) to elevate the legal status of animals. She also co-founded with her colleague, Suh Cooc-hwa, a pro bono association of animal lawyers called People for Non-Human Rights (PNR) in 2017. The group is now joined by 12 other like-minded lawyers and a researcher.

Although her main business is filing civil lawsuits, Park has been dedicated to her side job of representing abused animals in court and pushing for meaningful amendments to the APA.

The APA, which only had 12 simple articles when it was established in 1991, underwent two revisions in 2007 and 2011, specifying the idea of animal abuse and aggravated penalties for such offenses, respectively. The third and latest revision, which took effect last Thursday, enforces the responsibility of owners in animal care and focuses on preventing animal abuse, abandonment and negligence.

Cover of "They Are Not Things," authored by Park Joo-yeon / Courtesy of Geulhangari

The interests of lawmakers have grown over the years, she noted. The 18th National Assembly only saw 18 bills proposed between 2008 and 2012 on animal rights, but the figure jumped dramatically to over 100 in the ongoing 21st National Assembly, whose four-year term started in 2020.

"Animals cannot express the pain they experience in human language, which is why humans should become their voice," Park wrote, underscoring the need for a legal system, social infrastructure and human compassion to effectively protect animals.

In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Park admitted that representing animals here has been worthwhile but also frustrating, especially because animal abuse crimes are becoming more frequent and increasingly cruel, while animal rights awareness levels remain low in courts of law. However, an exchange with international animal rights lawyers gave her new strength.

From left, animal rights lawyers Suh Cooc-hwa, Steven Wise and Kevin Schneider from the United States, and Park Joo-yeon pose during the Global Animal Law Conference held in Hong Kong in this May 4, 2018 photo. Courtesy of Park Joo-yeon

Park and her colleagues attended the Global Animal Law Conference in Hong Kong on May 4, 2018, where scholars, lawyers and activists from 17 countries gathered to discuss and share the state of animal laws from their countries.

Park recalled that the exchange made her feel both envious and empowered and showed her the next page for the country's animal rights movement.

"Here, the animal welfare discourse is still at an immature level, where the social consensus on respect for life has been just made. On the other hand, more progressive countries like Brazil and Switzerland are asking deeper questions on how to not only prevent harm against animals, but how to better protect them and grant them happier lives," she said.

Fueled by the experience, she plans to organize a similar conference in Korea later this year, where she hopes to bring together like-minded advocates in Korea and abroad. The global exchange paused since 2018 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Park said.

Park is now working on developing a legal basis for a developed regulation system on the circulation of animals, similar to Lucy's Law in England. The British law bans puppy and kitten farming, restricts animal sales at pet shops and requires anyone wanting to get a pet to buy directly from licensed breeders or adopt from rescue shelters.

"Eventually, we will need the constitution to state the government's role in protecting animal lives. That will become a foundation for other related laws and a key to obliging government branches in animal protection," Park said, adding that, as the title of her book shows, she hopes animals will no longer be considered simply as objects in the legal system and in the perceptions of individuals.