Court upholds conviction of man who kicked dog that lunged at his pet at dog cafe

A court has upheld a guilty verdict against a man who kicked another dog at a dog cafe after it lunged at his own pet.

The first criminal appeals division of the Cheongju District Court, presided over by Judge Kim Byeong-hwi, recently dismissed appeals filed by both the defendant, identified only as A, and prosecutors. The court maintained the lower court's suspended sentence of a 500,000-won ($351) fine on charges of property damage.

A suspended sentence in South Korea means guilt has been established but punishment is deferred due to the relatively minor nature of the offense. If the defendant commits no disqualifying act within two years, the sentence is effectively waived.

A was indicted after kicking a dog at a dog cafe in Cheongju in September 2024, fracturing its spine, after the animal barked and charged at his own dog.

A acknowledged kicking the dog but said he had not expected it to be seriously injured, and argued that even if it was, his actions constituted self-defense.

The appeals court rejected that argument. "The defendant kicked the small dog hard enough to send it flying through the air, and it appears he could have fully recognized that the dog could be injured — it cannot be said he lacked intent to cause harm," the court said in its ruling.

The court added that the self-defense claim was also difficult to accept, saying the defendant "appears to have been able to protect his own dog simply by blocking the other dog's approach, without resorting to active physical force against it."