Illegal Dog Slaughterhouse Demands Improved Conditions, Threatens Police, Faces Trial
Park So-yeon, former representative of the animal rights organization ‘CARE,’ who was prosecuted for obstructing police officers in the process of demanding sanctions against illegal dog slaughterhouses, has been sentenced to a suspended prison term.
According to the legal community on the 24th, the Supreme Court’s 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) upheld the original sentence of 2 years in prison with a 3-year suspension in the final appeal trial against Park, who was charged with special obstruction of official duties causing injury, among other charges. Kang Mo, a former CARE activist who was also prosecuted, received a confirmed sentence of 1 year in prison with a 2-year suspension.
Park was indicted for obstructing the legitimate execution of police duties by blocking the path of a police car with a soju bottle in front of Chuncheon City Hall last September and causing injury to a police officer. At the time, Park had conflicts with the Dog Meat Association over the closure of dog slaughterhouses in the Chuncheon area.
The first trial sentenced Park to 2 years and 6 months in prison. However, the second trial acquitted her of the charge of special obstruction of official duties causing injury, stating that “it is difficult to see that the defendant could have foreseen the result of the injury,” and sentenced her to 2 years in prison with a 3-year suspension.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the lower court’s judgment. The Court stated, “There is no mistake in the lower court’s judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience, exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, or misinterprets the law.”
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