South Korea's sole horse racing authority has imported more than 4,000 horses in the last 10 years, while exporting only 15 horses during that period, a lawmaker said Friday.
According to Rep. Wi Seong-gon of the ruling Democratic Party, the Korea Racing Authority spent 196.3 billion won ($173 million) to import 4,395 horses from 2007 to 2016. In 2014, the KRA bought 603 horses from overseas at a cost of 27.5 billion won.
By type, 2,913 were racing horses, while 1,482 were breeding horses.
This photo provided by the Korea Racing Authority (KRA) on Aug. 21, 2016, shows thoroughbred racing horses in a container. (Yonhap)
By country, the United States accounted for 77 percent of horse imports, followed by Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Britain.
However, during the 10-year period, the KRA only exported 15 horses, generating only 160 million won, according to Wi.
"The KRA was designated to upgrade South Korea's horse industry, but it only focused on racing and this led to poor results in horse exports," Wi said. "The KRA should come up with plans to boost developments of the local horse industry." (Yonhap)
