[The Hwankyung Ilbo] On the 19th, the Ministry of Justice prepared a bill to revise the civil law, which states, "Animal is not an object," and announced legislation.

The amendment established Article 98-2 of the legal status of animals. Paragraph (1) said "Animals are not objects," and paragraph (2) stated that "Animals shall apply to an object except where there is a special provision in law."

Animals have been treated the same way as objects, even though they are perceptive creatures.

Article 98 of the current Civil Code defines objects as "fluids, electricity, and other natural forces that can be managed," and animals are treated as objects as dual fluids.

However, if the amendment passes the National Assembly, animals will be recognized for their legal status as animals themselves, not as objects.

"We warmly welcome the Ministry of Justice's revision of the civil law and hope it will be passed by the National Assembly," said Kara, the animal rights activist. 

Not only is it justification that animals are not objects, but also discussions about whether or not they are the subjects of rights are underway at home and abroad, and animals have been reduced to objects in the domestic legal system and have been treated too passively.

Despite social changes in animal rights awareness 30 years after the animal protection law was enacted, the old mindset of "animal is nothing more than an object" was underlying the ongoing animal cruelty.

As a result, our society has been forced to witness limitations such as weak punishment for animal abuse crimes and unconvincing compensation for animal damage, which are separated from legal sentiment.

Already in Austria, the first regulation on the legal status of animals was enacted in 1988 under the Civil Act, "Animal is not an object. Animals are protected by separate laws. The regulations on objects stipulated that similar regulations apply only to animals when they do not exist, and in Germany in 1990 "Animal is not an object." Animals are protected by separate laws.'

Although animals still remain objects of rights, they have legal protection as life different from ordinary objects.

In the face of far-reaching animal protection, Kara, who has been making every effort to improve animal welfare and promote animal rights, has been struggling to improve animal legal status for years, but the proposed civil law revision was scrapped at the 20th National Assembly. 

However, if the civil law is revised, a positive change in the legal status of animals will be predicted in South Korea in 2021.

However, this revision is a method of applying the regulations on objects except when there are special regulations in law, such as overseas legislation, and the actual treatment of animals can only be improved under the revision of other laws by issue.

The Ministry of Justice's revision of the civil law is primarily aimed at banning the seizure of pets and adjusting the amount of damages, as the number of households living with pets has recently increased, and the social consensus that animals should be protected and respected as living creatures is broad.

However, the impact of the revision of the civil law, which stipulates that animals are not objects, will not be limited to pets, and will lead to extensive social discussions about animals.

Animals deserve to be respected as individuals worthy of protection with one right to life. It should also be protected not as someone's property, but as it is.

"We welcome and support the Ministry of Justice's revision of the civil law that aims to drive a society where life is more respected," Kara said. "We hope that our society will be reborn as a real life-respecting society."