The practice is decreasing in popularity throughout the country.
The South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, has raised the possibility of banning the consumption of dog meat in the country.
Dog meat has long been a part of traditional South Korean cuisine, with an estimated 1 million dogs slaughtered for meat annually.
But its popularity has declined in recent times, particularly among young people, who now view the animals as companions rather than livestock. Markets and restaurants that sell the meat have also been dwindling.
"Hasn't the time come to prudently consider prohibiting dog meat consumption?" the president asked Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum during a meeting on Monday, according to his office.
Dog meat is currently neither legal nor explicitly banned in South Korea.
The country's pet industry is rapidly growing and many people are living with dogs in their homes. President Moon Jae-in is among them, keeping several canine pets at the presidential compound - including
Tori, the first ever rescue dog to make its way into the Blue House, who the president adopted from an animal sanctuary in 2017.
Animal rights activist groups, who have long fought for an end to the dog-meat trade, have welcomed the news. Many gathered in central Seoul on Tuesday to call for the government and parliament to work out steps to officially ban dog meat consumption.
Activists placed placards around the streets which read: “Legislate law banning the slaughters of dogs and cats!”
“We actively welcome President Moon Jae-in’s comments instructing a review of the dog meat consumption ban and hope there would be substantial progress on that,” animal rights organisations said in a joint statement.
A public survey carried out in 2018 revealed that roughly 80% of South Koreans had not eaten dog meat in the previous year, although it still remains popular among the older demographic.
