"Even his genitals were torn off"... Dog owner who left vicious dogs unattended and left neighbor fighting for life gets four years in prison

[Financial News] A dog owner who kept vicious dogs without leashes and caused multiple biting incidents has received a final sentence of four years in prison.
According to the legal community on the 10th, the second division of the Supreme Court of Korea, presided over by Justice Park Young-jae, upheld the lower court ruling from last December that sentenced a person identified as A to four years in prison on charges of violating the Animal Protection Act and causing injury through gross negligence.
From March to November 2024, A kept two male and female vicious dogs, including Dogo Canario, at his home in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province, without proper control. He was charged with causing four separate dog-bite incidents that resulted in human casualties.
The dogs in question ran out of the house without leashes or muzzles and indiscriminately attacked passersby, including neighbors and a delivery worker. The victims suffered serious injuries, and one of them sustained severe wounds all over the body, including the genitals, and became critically ill with acute sepsis.
The key issue at trial was whether A had fulfilled his duty to prevent such accidents. Under the Animal Protection Act, owners of registered animals must take care to ensure that the animals do not leave the place where they are kept and that dog-bite incidents do not occur.
The courts of first and second instance found A responsible, sentenced him to four years in prison, and ordered the confiscation of the two vicious dogs. After one of the dogs died, confiscation was carried out for only one remaining dog.
A argued that he had taken preventive measures, such as putting up signs reading "Beware of Dog" and "No Entry" and installing a parcel box at the entrance to a mountain path about 400 meters from his house. The courts did not accept this claim.
The court cited several reasons: at the time of the incidents, there was no fence or wall marking the boundary of the residence, so outsiders could enter without realizing they were crossing onto private property; and A's dogs had previously bitten a postal worker.
The court also noted that, given the dogs had a history of biting people, it was difficult to say A was unaware of their aggressiveness. Nevertheless, he left them unattended without properly restraining them, which the court held was a violation of his duty of care.
Finding no misinterpretation of the law in these conclusions, the Supreme Court of Korea affirmed the lower court's judgment.
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter