Actor Yoo Yeon-seok spoke up against KBS’s horse abuse: “We need to get rid of filming sites where animals have to sacrifice”

Actor Yoo Yeon-seok spoke out about the death of the abused horse on KBS1 TV’s “The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won.”    

On Jan 22nd, Yoo Yeon-seok posted a scene where Lee Sung-gye (played by a stunt actor) fell in the 7th episode of “The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won” on his personal Instagram story. Animal protection groups and Korean citizens are angry at the scene. Yoo Yeon-seok wrote, “There should be no more filming sites where animals are sacrificed for money and time,” adding, “The safety of stunt actors should also be guaranteed.”

According to a video released by an animal organization, the staff had tied wires to the legs of the horse and made it sprinted with all its might. They then pulled the wire hard and the horse’s head fell forward. The horse couldn’t even stand up in a while. There was testimony that even the stunt actor briefly lost consciousness for some time. The horse eventually died a week later. 

“The horse used in the broadcast was a retired racehorse under the name of ‘Kkami’,” the animal rights group said. “It had to live for human entertainment all its life, and eventually collapsed in a quilted state.” KBS apologized, saying, “We feel responsible for this.” Nevertheless, public opinion has not cooled down as they are asking for the replacement or abolition of the production team.

The actors were angry, too. Ko So-young said, “That’s too much. I feel bad for it,” along with a capture of the fallen horse video. Kim Hyo-jin also shared Kara’s post. Kim Hyo-jin said, “It’s really terrible. It is said that the actor was injured, and the horse eventually died. I hope the stunt actor gets well as soon as possible,” she said. In this post, Gong Hyo-jin also commented, “This hurts so much.”

Park Sung-kwang said, “I don’t think this is right. Isn’t this an outdated filming technique?” he said angrily. Jeong Seon-ah also said, “Is this something you should do to an animal who can’t speak for itself? I’m angry.”