'Taejong Lee Bang-won' Falls from Horse, Eventually Dies... KBS "Deeply Responsible for Accident"

A scene from the KBS1 drama 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' where a horse falls heavily towards the ground, raising suspicions of animal abuse. Photo by KBS1

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] KBS's 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' has apologized for the animal abuse controversy, but it has been confirmed that the horse that collapsed during filming died.

On the 20th, KBS stated, "The incident occurred while filming the fall from horse scene of Yi Seong-gye, which aired in episode 7 of 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' on November 2," and added, "We deeply regret and apologize for the accident that happened during filming."

They continued, "Filming a fall from horse scene is very difficult. It requires ensuring the safety of the horse as a basic priority, as well as the safety of the actor riding the horse and the staff filming the scene," and explained, "The production team prepared and checked in advance for any possible accidents that might occur."

KBS said, "Despite our efforts, during the actual filming, the actor fell far from the horse, and the horse's upper body hit the ground hard."

They added, "Immediately after the accident, the horse stood up on its own, and since there appeared to be no visible injuries, the horse was sent back. However, as viewers' concerns about the horse's condition grew recently, we rechecked the horse's health status and unfortunately confirmed that the horse died about a week after filming."

They further apologized, saying, "We cannot help but feel a deep sense of responsibility for this unfortunate incident. We sincerely apologize to our viewers for failing to prevent the accident and for the unfortunate event that occurred."

KBS also stated, "Through this accident, we confirmed that there is a problem with the method of filming fall from horse scenes. We will seek alternative filming and expression methods to ensure that such accidents never happen again," and added, "We will work with related organizations and experts to find ways to guarantee animal safety on all filming sites."

Earlier, Animal Freedom Coalition issued a statement titled 'Horses forced to fall and collapse for drama filming, their safety and welfare are at risk,' raising concerns about the fall from horse scene in episode 7 of 'Taejong Yi Bang-won.'

The organization pointed out, "We confirmed that wires were tied to the horse's legs to forcibly make it fall during the filming of the scene," and criticized, "The horse was filmed in a dangerous way that caused it to collapse severely enough to put great strain on its body."

Viewers who watched the broadcast raised their voices of criticism on the KBS homepage, demanding an explanation. There was a consensus that filming using actual animals instead of computer graphics or dummies is inappropriate, sparking controversy.