The prized, purebred Jindo bitch was left in the parking lot in order to breed, but the dog disappeared without a trace, and bloodstains and a metal pipe were discovered. He then remembered a phone call he received from Mr. Kim, a parking lot attendant, in which Kim extended an invitation to have dog meat. Lee called the police. Learning what Kim had done through the following police investigation, Lee would be shocked once again.

Kim and two other employees had beaten the dog to death with a metal pipe, put it in their car and went to a nearby river valley where they boiled up some Korean dog meat soup (boshintang in Korean), which they ate together. They even put the leftover meat in a large refrigerator at an eatery nearby the rental car company for safekeeping. They knew the dog they were eating was a Jindo dog, but they didn't know that this was a proud purebred with a pedigree.

Lee, the owner of the dog, complained, "Chanmi was a superior Jindo dog with pure blood that stretched back five generations. On the investigation report, it was written that the dog was worth about W10 million, but the Korea Jindo Dog Association said the dog was worth several tens of millions of won." Korea Jindo Dog Association president Lee Cheol-yong said, "As the dog was two years old and was worth the most not only because of its blood lines, but because it was female and could have lots of puppies, it was worth more than W70~80 million."

Seoul's Cheongnyang-ni Police Station applied for an arrest warrant for the three on charges of larceny Monday, but the application was rejected and they were released in a day. Lee, the owner of the dog, said, "Even if it's just to sound the alarm against a social reality that doesn't seem to value purebred Jindo dogs, I will launch a lawsuit and get back what my dog was worth."

(englishnews@chosun.com )