/Photo = Poster for KBS 1TV drama ‘Taejong Lee Bang-won’
‘Taejong Lee Bang-won’, who was embroiled in controversy over animal cruelty, decided to cancel the show.
On the 21st, an official from the KBS 1TV drama ‘Taejong Lee Bang-won’ told Hankyung.com that the 13th and 14th episodes, which were scheduled for the 22nd and 23rd, had been canceled. It is said that discussions are underway over details such as future broadcasts.
‘Taejong Lee Bang-won’ is a great drama that KBS revived after 5 years since ‘Jang Young-sil’ in 2016. It was praised as “the value of the license fee” while illuminating the human Lee Bang-won with a heavy development that reflects historical evidence.
‘Taejong Lee Bang-won’, which continued to climb high in viewer ratings due to favorable reviews for its work, was embroiled in controversy on the 20th when Kara, an animal rights activist group, raised allegations of animal abuse in the filming.
On the same day, Kara revealed the fact that the on-site staff pulled the wire tied to the horse’s leg and knocked it down, and reported the person in charge of filming ‘Taejong Lee Bang-won’ to the police.
KARA’s representative also said, “Adult men pulled the rope from behind and knocked down a running horse.” “The actor was a stuntman, but he was given only general protective gear without a safety device. Lee Bang-won’s staff testified.
The Animal Freedom Coalition also released a video from the scene at the time of filming, criticizing the production team of ‘Taejong Lee Bang-won’, saying, “As many feared, when filming a scene in which a horse was knocked down, they tied a wire to the horse’s leg and forcibly knocked it down.” .
In addition, he said, “We will officially request confirmation of the horse’s survival and safety.”
On the day of the controversy, KBS announced the death of the horse whose neck was broken while filming the scene of the fall, and apologized, saying, “We cannot but take a deep responsibility for the unfortunate incident.”
KBS said, “It is very difficult to shoot a camel because the safety of the horse is fundamental, and the safety of the actors riding on the horse and the safety of the filming staff must also be taken into consideration. “There was an accident in which the upper body hit the ground heavily, and immediately after the accident, the horse got up on its own and after confirming that there were no apparent injuries, the horse was returned,” explained the situation at the time.
After the controversy broke out, KBS confirmed that the horse died about a week after filming.
However, despite the apology of KBS, petitions are continuing to demand an early end of ‘Taejong Lee Bang-won’ and to punish those involved. In addition, since several scenes with similar composition have appeared before, it is regrettable that horses have been sacrificed on the set.
Meanwhile, the current Animal Protection Act stipulates that ‘acts that injure animals for the purpose of gambling, advertising, entertainment, entertainment, etc.’ are cruelty to animals.
Kim So-yeon, reporter at Hankyung.com sue123@hankyung.com
