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| Gettyimagesbank |
By Ko Dong-hwan
A man who claims to be a former soldier is in a conflict with a district office in Seoul's northernmost suburb. He says he is on a mission to protect the capital from possible infiltrations by North Korean spies by raising stray dogs next to a popular mountain trail.
Dobong District Office has been receiving mounting complaints from trekkers at Mount Bukhan about the canine shelters set up by the man more than a decade ago inside the national park. One hiker in his 80s said he has been aware of the shelter for some time and added that the man started expanding the shelter's size about 10 years ago.
Most of the locals are not happy to see 10 dogs chained inside cages and apparently neglected. One local resident said she saw signs in front of the shelter warning: "Danger Dogs Nearby" and "You Are Being Recorded by Security Cameras."
The owner of the dogs is apparently driven by patriotism. He said he has been voluntarily running the dog shelters following a high-profile national security breach in 1968 when 120 North Korean soldiers infiltrated South Korea's eastern coastal cities of Uljin and Samcheok. The incident saw 113 of the North Koreans killed and seven of them captured by the South Korean military.
The man, whose name remains unknown, said he is angry at the locals for treating him like a criminal despite his patriotic efforts. He said he started his mission by occupying the site inside the national park and then started raising stray dogs as means of defense against North Korean infiltrators.
The district office, however, said the man has been illegally occupying the site and ordered him twice in May to demolish the shelters and empty the site. They said they will report him to the police if he does not clear the site by the end of June.
The district office said it received multiple reports of animal abuse from locals. But it added that the charge is not likely to be applied as the man does not seem to have harmed or attempted to kill the dogs.
Officials at the national park said they will take action if the National Forest Service, the country's top national park overseer, gives them the green light.
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