There’s a really unfortunate and sad all-around news to share coming out of Korea involving Super Junior star Choi Siwon and his family. Earlier in October Choi Siwon’s beloved family French Bulldog Bugsy was off leash in the family apartment complex and ran into an elevator, biting a neighbor who lived in the same complex on her leg. The neighbor went to the hospital but the dog bite lead to sepsis (blood poisoning) and six days later she passed away. The deceased neighbor is a single mother to a twenty-something year old son, and also the CEO of a chain of Korean restaurants Hanilkwan.
K-netizens are livid that Choi Siwon’s dog was off leash, especially after earlier reports that the dog was known to bite people to the point of the family putting the dog in training. Even worse is the family celebrating the dog’s birthday a few days after the bite though before the neighbor passed away. Since the passing the family have all gone to the funeral and apologized profusely to the deceased’s family, though netizens feel it is disingenuous since one apology posted by Choi Siwon’s pastor mentioned that further complications at the hospital caused by treatment may have led to the death. Fundamentally that woman would not have needed hospital treatment if the dog didn’t bite her, so it’s unclear what the family or authorities plan to do with the dog, if anything at all. This scandal is so bad netizens are calling for Choi Siwon to leave tvN drama Revolutionary Love.
A dog is still an animal. If he know how to behave, he shouldn’t be calling as animal. Unfortunately, the responsibility still fall on the owner (Choi family).
I don’t know what to say to make things better in this case.
That’s why I dont still get dogs but am a Cat lover. Coz dog ownership comes with risk of animal biting, like have you heard of Cat biting incident, lol? only rare when animals are provoke. you need to be more responsible owners when having a dog, you must be invested coz dogs are high maintenance, they are relationship dependent animals, best at companion, their behavior will depend on their owners, you need to have enough time for them so they dont go back being wild if always left alone on their own.
btw, am not promoting people abandon their Dog pets, that’s even worse, all Im saying be more responsible dog owners. as there are human laws against pet abandoning, though in some cases they dont strictly implement it, that’s why you see many stray animals outside the streets. you may escape in this life by abandoning your pets, but in God’s law all actions will be judge including how you have treated your pets, animals and others. I am speaking for 3 million Cats that gets euthanized in US every year (no stat for Dogs), coz they were abandoned and no home will welcome them.
Since you’re a “cat person”, I’ll forgive your ignorant comment. As you’ve mentioned, dog ownership comes with a risk but it depends on the breed, so much so that their behavior doesn’t really depend on their owners but also on their breed and upbringing.
@Chloe The lady just have chemo for cancer so her body is very weak due the lack of white blood cell. You can’t blame everything on the dog but if the dog didn’t bite her, she would be still alive.
Imagine what she and her family endure after just come back to life after all the chemo’s pain but she died because of the dog’s bite. I would hate the dog if I were her family members
Cats don’t bite??? Seriously?? Yes, they do and they also scratch with long fingernails. Just ask my neighbor’s child who’s face and arms are permanently scarred from a cat attack. I am allergic to cats, and they seem to know it. I have had way too many scratches from people’s cats. The itching and swelling is horrible. Well-trained dogs do not bite unless threatened. Give me a dog anyday.
In Siwon’s case, it should be investigated properly if the dog is the real reason for neighbor’s death, like does it have rabies, and will be more dangerous to others. if found guilty, they have no choice but to take down the pet, for the life it took, it will pay it by its own little life. Please please please be responsible Dog owners, it’s the only thing you can do!
From what I know, the dog does not have any diseases, it was just an unfortunate case of the dog biting someone and the lady probably didn’t treat the wound properly leading to sepsis and her untimely demise. You can’t blame everything on the dog
The woman who died had recently completed chemotherapy treatment for cancer and was very immunocompromised. Chemo drugs kill fast growing cells, including platelets that are needed to form clots and White Blood Cells for fighting infection. With the bite already, she probably had a bleeding issue, but it also led to infection setting in without the presence of a good immune system to fight it off. Sepsis occurs and death follows without effective treatment. It’s an unfortunate situation, but one that would’ve been prevented if the dog had been on a leash and no bitten her.
Well! I think in USA they would have euthanized the dog already & the victim’s family probably would have sued the dog’s owner also.
The deceased’s sister said they would not sue the family. That they have forgiven choi siwon already
What kind of bullpoop is that? Did the decease family get a large amount for not sueing?
one can only guess… this is always termed “settled out of court” (by money of coz)…
@hnAo and @candycane That family are rich and I don’t think they want money. The person who died is a CEO
They just didn’t want to kill SW’s career and it doesn’t bring her back regardless…
not lacking money does not equate not liking money… we are all just guessing. It would take a very noble person/family not to seek any compensation when being beaten by a crazy dog causing pain let alone dying from sepsis caused by the bite wound. BTW, Siwon’s new drama is really boring… his career is not being helped by anything good lately… not a fan, not taking sides, just my two cents here…
You should read the interview from the lady’s son and family they seem to be very noble and smart… Definitely not the kind that give up a lawsuit for some money…
In the US dog bite cases are common. (I worked in an insurance company and we dealt with the work comp dog bite cases, usually delivery people/gas company etc.) Anyway, dog bite cases, when not work related, are often covered under homeowners/renters insurance of the dog owner. For a simple bite, they are generally a doctor bill and maybe a few hundred for pain and suffering.
It is incredibly tragic that this victim is alleged to be a cancer survivor and might have had a compromised immune system. The dog absolutely should have been on a leash, but I would also look into the medical treatment though it sounds like the family wants to move on.
I have been a victim of a dog bite with a dog that got loose from its home. I have a friend whose son was walking a leashed dog when the dog suddenly pulled away and ran and bit another dog when it had never done such a thing before. Lots of stuff can happen with pets. However, Siwon wasn’t there when this occurred (and obviously has been gone in the military for a while) so I just don’t understand the mentality that he is somehow responsible, just like I don’t get people blaming stars when the accountants mess up the taxes, or because a star’s brother is a bully.
SiWon and his family should be grateful that the victim’s family decided not to press charges and forgave him.But if they did, good luck proving that there are not guilty of involuntary manslaughter has occurred, in a court of law, with excuses like “he wasnt there”, blaming the “immune system of the victim” or medical treatment in this case.
The “he wasnt there” excuse is crap because the dog is his/family’s(i dont care).So they are liable for the actions of their pet since it cant think for itself.Its same as if a child who under the law(is “incapable of committing an offence) like say 10 or under scratches another child’s face or cause serious bodily harm to another child.The parents of the victim child can sue, and ask for the defendant child to foot the medical bills or something.But they are consequences and it will definitely attract negative public opinion, regarding the child’s upbringing even in cases where the parents are good parents.Just because the defendant child’s parents “were not there” would not work as an excuse.I dont see much difference with this case.Also the dog already has a history of biting people.Even his own group member Lee Teuk posted about the dog biting him before.
The excuse about “the victim’s weakened system” is also crap.Why?The primary cause of death was not broken because of the victim’s immune system.No dog bite, no sepsis..no need for medical treatment.,victim would still be alive.There is no proof of negligence on the part of the victim or the hospital.Also..there is no logic on blaming the victim for an unruly dog.Choi Si Won, his family are responsible and should be held to account.Put down the dog, for them to understand the consequences of their negligence in looking after the pet, or take the dog away from them and rehabilitate it and give it to other people who will pay attention to the pet not treat him just like an accessory for instagram posts.
Although, taking him out of the drama is not helpful to the situation, if they cant stand seeing him, just dont watch the drama.Kang Sora and others are good actors.They only need to fo this and move on to other projects, and they will be just fine.
Let’s be specific, if it was his father who had the dog without a leash he is the one that would be liable in the US. My point was that in the US this would be covered under an insurance policy that the injured party could sue. I do not pretend to understand the law of Korea or all the cultural differences which I make note of in my posting.
In the US there is the “eggshell skull rule” wherein you take your claimants/defendants the way you get them. We had a case where someone slipped and fell at a store. This person was diabetic and had to have his lower leg amputated. This was for most people a minor injury that wouldn’t have been much more than a sprain, but the company paid a quarter of a million dollars because of the pre-existing medical condition. The concept being, diabetics will be shopping at the store..right… so the store should clean up a spilled drink fast. So, yes, I get it the family could get a lot of $. I was pointing out that it was an absolute tragedy that this poor woman went through this which for most people would have been a nasty but medically minor incident.
Again, in the US that is how it would be handled and SiWon would be deposed about previous bite incidents, but it would be his families insurance that would pay and the father who would be considered negligent. Again, I get it, in Korea the family seems to share the shame even if you weren’t there when the incident occurred. (I make mention of the brother bully incident hurting the W actress.)
After working for the insurance company, I worked for a litigation law firm. Law suits take years and they can suck the life out of you as it is hard to emotionally move on until it is completed. I would totally understand if this family wanted compensation, but I also respect if they want to grieve and move on.
I understand because of my background, I look at things through an analytical eye because that’s the way you have to be when dealing with lots of horrible situations. But I did say I found it to be tragic because it is. The whole thing is horrible.
As far as SiWon’s career, I could not care less. I had never hard a Super Junior song until about 2 weeks ago though I did love him in King of Dramas. Never saw SWP.
Wow, I am surprised that you are saying that a dog bite is compensated by 100$ in US. In my country dogs have to be walked with a leash, otherwise the owner is doing something illegal. If I was bitten by a dog I would not stop for 100, what about the trauma for life, the scars that will not go away ever? Why do I have to suffer the rest of my life because of some irresponsible offender? I was attacked once by a farm animal and I still cannot get close to them years after, I panic at dogs and even with my cat I had difficult times until I was able to trust him again.
Dog owners should be more responsible and aware of the harm their animals can do.
Hi @Elena. The more serious the bite injury, the more $ involved. So someone with multiple bites or bad scarring will see more money versus someone who was bit and it barely broke the skin.
When I was bit on the hand, it was minor and left no scar. The traumatic part for me was if the owners couldn’t find the proof of a rabies shot, they were going to put the dog down to see if it had rabies. If they didn’t do that, I would have had to go through a lot of shots which I hear are horrific. It was very stressful because I didn’t want the dog put down but didn’t want the shots.
The worst case I’ve heard in the US is the dog mauling case in the San Fran area where a dog or two mauled a woman to death. I think one or both owners actually went to prison for that one.
Most urban places that I’ve lived in have leash laws, and I find most try to obey but there are always those people who swear their dogs won’t do anything. We have multiple dog parks by our house where they can be let off the leash and they are always super busy. But I always wonder how those dogs manage to behave around each other.
@Kat even I think RubyRed is too harsh
The dog owner is liable for their pet. Why is the adult son being dragged into it? Also the council where the dog os registered has to have a report. And the ranger come to the house for ours. The council can then ask for the dog to be put down. And yes if the family chooses they can sue.
And also medically, it is a known fact that a dog bite is a dirty bite. And if the person sought immediate medical attention especially if they are immunocompromised to prevent infection.
And dying from sepsis is not restricted to just vulnerable people. We had healthy adults die from influenza this winter. And I once had a 23 year old who had a cold for a fews and by the time they went to the hospital they had DIC and died within 24hrs.
I am not saying that the animal is in the wrong. But if it has bitten before then the owners have to be careful. And yes I own 2 large dogs myself. 35kg each. And trained. But even I am not idiotic to walk 2 off leash ( not allowed ) but we have off leashed beaches and parks. And they would not be under effective control. So I leash one and the other is unleashed. Or do one dog at a time.
So as a dog owner… am still wondering why the dog was off leashed. And also am leery of owners and how they train their dogs because I have met so many negligent owners. A good trained dog can and will stop immediately on command.
While there should be some form of punishment for the unfortunate death that occurred I think it is an overreaction to ask that the actor be removed from the show.
Its too late for him to be taken out of the drama since its already airing and pulling in decent ratings. Plus they must have already filmed about 8-9 episodes which is like 50% of the drama. He should be held responsible still.
Wow I am stunned! Such a tragic unforseen death. An unfortunate incident for all parties involved.
Condolences to the deceased family. How is CSW going to work at the filming site? The incident is so recent. Aweful situation for the rest of the cast/crew too.
My thoughts and prayers go to the family of the woman. 🙁
I wonder why neither Siwon nor his family did try to school their dog instead of letting him bite people. Of course when the dog doesn’t know it’s wrong it will do it again and again.
Definitely the family should receive punishment. Removing him from the drama sounds a bit dramatic though… typical Netizens reaction. I’m not watching the drama but I think in this personal and professional should be seperated.
Well that’s just very an unfortunate event
I understood from some comments that Choi Siwon was still in the army when the incident occurred, though I’m not sure about the timing. I saw pictures and video clips of the incident. The dog, with its history of biting, should have been muzzled and put on a leash.
I understand the comments to have the dog put down, but it’s hard for the family to do since it must be considered a family member. Such an unfortunate thing to happen. The family should take responsibility, though I don’t know how pulling Siwon from his currently airing drama will help matters. Netizens take their witch hunt to extreme levels sometimes.
The dog should be put down for sure. If they can’t control where he is, this could happen again!!!I would be scared to death to live in that building
Siwon is chaebol-level right? I’m surprised that his family is living in an apartment block instead of landed property but I digress. I’m a dog owner and i have a toy dog, no matter how gentle he is, i still put him on lease when out and about. Dogs can just go wild over something what we are not aware of. Even innocent kids who go near them may get bitten if they are caught by surprise. This is also to ensure that he doesn’t run across the road or lose him. Don’t understand why some owners unleashed them in public.
I suppose it’s a fancy apartment of some sort. The victim is a CEO of a famous 80-year old restaurant.
Agreed, the owners should be responsible by putting the dog on leash… Especially because Siwon’s dog has long history of unprovoked attack and biting. They should’ve muzzled him. It’s sad that this unfortunate accident happened and costed someone’s life 🙁
Irresponsible owners. The dog had a history of biting before and it even received training once a week to rid off of that habit. But training is futile when owners are irresponsible and don’t stick to the training routine and don’t put their dog on a leash and muzzle them.
I agree. It’s not the first time. The owner are responsible for it whether they want it or not.
this is a sad situation all around.what to do?the dog has been biting people atleast for 2 years including choi siwon himself and yet because there is no consequence to the choi family,they still refused to leash it.
in this our world when a family member kills someone in the family,the government still punishes the killer whether the family forgives him or not.the person is forced to takes responsibility for his action,in the same way the choi family should take responsibility for the situation and also for not training the dog well.the dog must therefore be put down to avoid any further occurrances.
why to keep a dog in an apartment, a dog needs a house that has a large yard,and he can afford to buy a house that there is a large yard, if he love so much with his dog.
Seems like his family responded in the right way, but the dog should be put down if this is a habit. It probably would be here if this incident, which resulted in a death, had happened.
Criminal law doesn’t work like that. Who ever was with the dog at the time of the incident is the one who get charged for man slaughter if their lawyer is unable to prove that she died from other complications. A civil case CSW can definitely be sued and the victims family would have a higher chances of winning. I don’t know how criminal cases work in Korea though.
The dog should have been put down long ago and must be put down now.
I believe the same that the person that was with the dog is responsible for the dog actions, for example my cousin has 2 large dogs and when I dog-sit them I always use a leash why one is too big a call him little bear plus he to energetic to be controlled by command and 3 the most important I’m responsible to what dog can do to other is not my dog but I still responsible for the decision I made while taking care of the dog. So in this case I can’t pass the blame to Siwon as he was not the person who took the dog out of the apartment without at least a leash. To what I read he was not even there as he was still in the military. So to say he is to blame to my point of view is to much, but he is resposible for actions taken going forward.
His family members should had been more responsible about the dog and to other citizens.
Too sad that this incident happened.
The person who died may have had other illnesses that the family does not want to come out during a court case. And this being a public figure involved, they probably just want privacy to grieve. Perhaps, they are trying to get back to a normal and don’t want anymore attention.
If the family forgives him, fake or not, I don’t see what uninvolved parties have to say.
What do they want? The dog put down?
Dog ownership is relatively new to South Korea compared to the USA. So a whole lot of ettiquettes and what we consider normal (No cacas on the sidewalk) can’t be used as the yardstick.
Yes, it seems netizens want the dog to be put down and Siwon and his family to reflect. Especially since the dog biting isn’t a first time occurrence. Besides that, the outcry is in hopes of passing pet ownership laws and setting precedent for other cases like this. If this case happened to a non-famous person, it wouldn’t be big news. Yes, the person who didn’t use a leash on the dog is responsible, but it likely would’ve been swept under the rug if it wasn’t related a famous idol. So in a way, some good may come out of this by educating people about proper pet owning etiquette.
The CEO got cancer… They didn’t hide anything. The seem smart and high class people who doesn’t want to kill SW’s career since it’s not like they can bring her back
They don’t lack of money
Amazing that Si Won’s family/owner of the dog did not get sued by the family of the dead woman who was bitten. They were totally irresponsible for not keeping their dog on a leash, which is even more shocking when this dog has a history of biting people. I imagine it will happen again since they faced zero consequences for their actions. Where I live, the city attorney can sue the owners if a person died as the result of a dog attack/bite and have the dog seized pending a hearing to decide if the dog should be put down as a result of the attack. The city attorney can bring the charges- it doesn’t need to be the person who got bit. Looks like they don’t do the same in Korea. The owner can also face criminal charges. I don’t know what the dog ownership laws are in South Korea. I wonder if the ratings of Si Won’s drama will go down as a result of this tragedy? If people are really that upset they may boycott the drama.
What an unfortunate incident. It was irresponsible of the family to let the dog loose esp with a history of biting ppl.
This is indeed unfortunate. The fault lies with the person who let the dog out without a leash. Dangerous for both the people and the animal itself (some other person may kick it strongly and the dog may come to harm as well).
The thing I don’t understand in all this is why people ask Siwon to quit the drama. Sure he probably loves the dog but how does it connect with the request??? (I’m not for or against Siwon, neutral to his charms).
Who owns the dog? This dog needs to be put down because he wasn’t under control by his owners. Why bite this lady? Did she provoke the dog? Since the dog has a history of biting, I would doubt he needed much provoking, but seems very territorial. Why would the grieving family take a chance that this family, who owns this dog, would not be in control of their dog again, next time it might be a child hurt or mutilated. This lady fought cancer, only to be bitten by a dog and die of complications, how cruel is that. Money can’t bring back this woman, this mother, this daughter.
Interesting how people from the US love telling us what they do there.
Like as if they know anything about Human Rights wow just wow
So many people here are so biased because they don’t give a damn about Siwon, it’s amusing. If you read the son’s interview, you would have also read that they cremated the body before reporting the bite to the police, so no autopsy could be done. Even in Korea, the law isn’t “if she didn’t have the dog bite, then she wouldn’t be at the hospital.” Only six people in the entire world have died from that infection caused just from a dog bite. Also if you read the son’s interview, you would have heard him say the media reported wrong and her immune system was fine. Not that that’s relevant because it’s not the victim’s fault no matter what, but if you’re using that to make it seem like of course she died from the bite, you’re ridiculous. No one ever clarified which was the truth. Either he didn’t know, or he didn’t want anyone to remotely suggest it was her fault – which is weird because even with the right info, it’s not her fault at all. If you know anything about US law, we have contributory negligence here, and negligent homicide. Siwon’s family can’t be sued without actual evidence that only the dog caused the death. They don’t have it, they cremated her immediately. If you want justice, you have to know how much was also caused by the hospital because it’s a rare case. But so many of you don’t care about actual justice.
If you read that same son interview, you’d know they were advised if they did sue his family, they’d spend years in court going over details that will never add up because there is no autopsy. They didn’t just completely forgive them out of kindness, they had very little options legally.
Anyway, whatever, believe what you want to believe. Either way, those of you who think in a court of law Siwon would be sued are ridiculous. The dog was registered to his father, his sister was in charge of training him and its primary caretaker and both dad and sister were the ones who have walked it without a leash. Siwon just got out of the army, so he hadn’t been around that dog in over two years, and before that, the first year or so they had the dog, he was away from it nearly all the time. Reporters might have messed up the details to hold him at fault but in court, no one is getting their information from articles sensationalizing the news.
Also how ridiculous some of you believe the dad, not Siwon as – once again, the dad owned the dog, it was under his name and he was also the one supervising at the time of this sad incident – was fined just that much for leash laws. That was all legally they could charge them for. Not sure where in the US you’re even from but you need real evidence to charge someone for a crime, beyond a reasonable doubt, otherwise they can only get you on civil fines which is exactly what happened here. The western holier than thou attitude is ridiculous, the U.S. is fucked up in other ways, please. The only difference here is maybe in the U.S., depending on where you’re from, they might make you euthanize the dog by force, and Siwon’s family had the choice to send it away, but considering the dog was medically checked out and had no rabies or even the infection she died from, and the dog is small…highly doubt even in your perfect utopia of laws U.S. would force the dog to be euthanized. Please read up on your own country’s laws before talking shit, and yes, I’m also American.
Honestly, where is the logic?
Both dog owners and hospital are at fault, but Siwon belongs to neither category. But y’all believe what you want to believe. It’s quite sad.
** meant to say, ridiculous some of you believe the dad was fined for a bite and not just leash laws. it’s leash laws, the civil fine is all they had evidence for.