Lee Byung Hun faces criticism over alleged animal abuse after raising 27 dogs

Actor Lee Byung Hun has sparked debate online after discussing his past experience with raising pets.

On September 20, the YouTube channel DdeunDdeun uploaded a video titled 'The God of Acting is Pinggeo｜EP.88' on its series Pinggego. During the interview, Lee addressed a question about pets and stated, “I don’t have any pets right now.” He went on to reveal, “Before I got married, when I lived with my mother, we raised up to 27 dogs.” The unexpectedly high number of dogs left hosts Yoo Jae Suk and Ji Suk Jin visibly surprised.

Lee’s comments quickly drew criticism on online communities. Some netizens expressed concerns, writing, “Is he an animal hoarder?” “Did he irresponsibly take in dogs and then give them all away? It is alarming how casually he talks about it,” and “Where did all the dogs end up? Isn’t this animal abuse? How did he manage walks?” Critics focused on potential issues of irresponsible pet ownership, including the challenges of walking and caring for so many dogs.

While Lee clarified that many of the dogs were later adopted by acquaintances, public reactions remain divided. Some argue, “What is wrong with sending them for adoption?” or “He could not keep all of them, so he gave them away. It does not seem like a big deal.” The conversation has sparked a lively debate online.

Lee also shared details about the challenges of caring for so many dogs. He said, “More than half of them were medium- to large-sized dogs. Including the puppies, it was 27 in total. Feeding them was a huge task, but cleaning up after them was even harder.”

He added, “Eventually, I realized it was too much, so I asked people around me if they wanted to take any dogs, and I started giving them away. I still have about four dogs now.” Yoo Jae Suk commented, “Even four dogs are not easy to manage,” while Ji Suk Jin remarked, “You really love dogs.” However, some viewers remained critical, continuing the online debate.