Neglect Allegations Over 'Celebrity Hot Spot' Dog... Owner Denies, Says "We Checked on the Dog Regularly"

Only the Puppy Left in Closed Huam-dong Restaurant in Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Owner Responds Directly on SNS as Controversy Spreads

Dog photo at a restaurant posted by Mr. A on the 2nd. Instagram

Controversy has arisen over allegations that a pet dog was being neglected inside a sashimi restaurant located in Huam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Attention grew when it was revealed that this restaurant was featured as a popular dining spot on singer Sung Si Kyung’s YouTube channel two years ago.

On May 2, a photo was posted on a social media (SNS) thread with the caption, “A puppy is locked up.” The poster, Mr. A, uploaded a picture showing a white puppy standing behind a glass door, saying, “The puppy was left all alone, and at least some nearby residents are giving it water. The dog was trembling so much that I found some aprons and clothes inside the shop and spread them on the floor.”

In the photo, the puppy had urinated on newspaper inside the darkened restaurant, and there was water in an empty banchan container in front of it. A warning notice was attached to the restaurant door, stating, “We have reported this to the district office and the center, so take proper care of the animal’s life.” In the video posted by Mr. A, the puppy was seen trembling and glancing around anxiously.

Mr. A said, “There are flies and mosquitoes everywhere, there’s no ventilation, and it smells bad. Recently, the indoor temperature has been high during the day because it’s hot, and apparently, the electricity was cut off some time ago.” He added, “The puppy seems to have problems with its ears and legs, and its eyes also do not look healthy.”

The next day, Mr. A wrote another post, stating, “Aside from the main entrance, there isn’t even a single window in the restaurant, so it’s completely dark inside. After seeing this on social media, residents brought food, snacks, pee pads, bottled water, and other supplies for the puppy.”

The post quickly spread online. As the controversy grew, the restaurant owner explained via their Instagram account, “We have temporarily suspended business due to internal circumstances and became aware of a situation that could lead to misunderstanding. We have never abandoned or intentionally deserted the puppy.”

The owner stated, “Given the circumstances, there was nowhere else to leave the puppy, so we placed it in what we believed was the safest location, with my husband staying on-site to be with the dog. However, for a few days, due to urgent business matters that needed to be addressed, we were unable to stay with the puppy.”

The owner added, “We clean up regularly for hygiene, but you might have seen the place before it was tidied up. We will resolve this as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the owner has now taken the puppy away from the restaurant.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.