KBS "King Taejong Yi Bang-won: Disaster Caused by Lack of Awareness on Life and Animals... Establishing Regulations"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Isul] KBS has halted the broadcast of 'Taejong Yi Bang-won,' which has been embroiled in an animal abuse controversy, and once again apologized, calling it a "tragedy caused by insufficient awareness."

On the 24th, KBS stated, "An unfortunate incident occurred during the filming of the historical drama 'Taejong Yi Bang-won,'" adding, "We deeply regret that we failed to protect the lives of the animals involved in the drama's production, and we sincerely apologize once again to our viewers and the public."

They continued, "There is no scene that should be filmed at the expense of threatening an animal's life. We consider this incident a tragedy caused by a lack of awareness regarding bioethics and animal welfare."

Furthermore, they said, "We will promptly establish production-related regulations to ensure the safety and welfare of animals so that such incidents do not happen again," and "We take seriously and solemnly the advice and criticism from viewers and related organizations."

KBS also promised, "We will thoroughly investigate the exact circumstances of this incident internally and sincerely cooperate with external investigations. Taking this as a lesson, we will do our best to inspect and improve all aspects of the production site to prevent any unfortunate incidents from occurring again in content production, and strive to become a trusted public media."

It was confirmed that in episode 7 of the KBS1 drama 'Taejong Yi Bang-won,' which aired on November 2 last year, the scene of Yi Seong-gye falling from a horse was filmed by forcibly knocking the horse down with wires tied to its legs. The horse that fell (Kami) died a week later.

Photo by KBS1, poster of 'Taejong Yi Bang-won'

Animal Freedom Coalition issued a statement titled "Horses forcibly knocked down and falling during drama filming, their safety and welfare are at risk," raising concerns about the filming method.

Viewers who watched the broadcast criticized the production method of 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' on the KBS bulletin board and demanded an explanation. There was a consensus that using actual animals instead of computer graphics or dummies for filming is inappropriate, leading to ongoing criticism.

A petition titled "Measures are needed for animals whose safety and survival are threatened for broadcast filming," posted on the Blue House petition board on the 20th, had gained over 63,000 supporters as of 8 a.m. on the 24th.

Afterward, KBS explained, "We take responsibility for what happened due to the accident," but the attitude of defining it as an accident was criticized, and calls for suspension and cancellation of the broadcast grew louder. On the 21st, Animal Freedom Coalition filed a complaint against KBS and others for violating the Animal Protection Act.

Filming of 'Taejong Yi Bang-won' was suspended, and KBS did not air episodes on the 22nd-23rd and 29th-30th, resulting in a two-week consecutive broadcast suspension.