In this photo shared by Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo, the wolf Neukgu sits inside a cage at the O World safari park, after undergoing a procedure to remove a fishhook from his stomach on April 17. (Yonhap)
In this photo shared by Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo, the wolf Neukgu sits inside a cage at the O World safari park, after undergoing a procedure to remove a fishhook from his stomach on April 17. (Yonhap)

A nationwide consultative body for publicly operated zoos will launch later this week, in response to growing safety concerns sparked by a wolf's escape from a theme park in Daejeon last month.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said it will hold the inaugural meeting of the new council on Wednesday in Seoul, bringing together ministry officials, the National Institute of Ecology, the Korean Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the heads of South Korea's public zoos.

The move comes after a young wolf named Neukgu briefly escaped from Daejeon O World on April 8 after digging under the lower part of a wire fence, prompting scrutiny over zoo safety and management practices.

The committee will focus on helping public zoos meet licensing requirements under the Act on the Management of Zoos and Aquariums, which introduced a permit system in December 2023. Existing zoos have until December 2028 to comply.

Of the country's 121 zoos, including 26 public and 96 private facilities, only 10 have obtained official permits so far.

The ministry aims to have more than 90 percent of zoos meet the requirements by the end of 2027.


junheee@heraldcorp.com