A Maltese poodle puppy is placed in a box for illegal distribution at a dog auction house. (The Beagle Rescue Network's Instagram)

A professor teaching animal welfare at a local community college was found to be allegedly operating the country's largest network of illegal dog auctions, according to an animal protection group Thursday.

The Beagle Rescue Network posted a statement on their Instagram account Thursday, saying “We have been conducting closed investigations into illegal animal breeding grounds and dog auction houses that procure and distribute dogs.”

“It has been revealed that Hong, a professor at the Department of Companion Animal Industry at a community college, is in charge of the biggest illegal dog auction houses in the country,” the group wrote.

According to the BRN, Hong has been procuring dogs from illegal and unauthorized breeding facilities and transferring them to the dog auction house, presenting them as if they were born at officially registered animal breeding businesses. The group reports that Hong is involved with 48 such illegal breeding facilities.

At these illegal dog breeding facilities, dogs are often forcibly bred and crammed into filthy cages. Given that these breeding facilities operate against animal protection laws, the Korean government is working to eradicate them. Measures being taken include escalating penalties and conducting annual comprehensive surveys of the animal breeding industry.

The BRN said that Hong had allegedly lied, saying that the puppies were all over 61 days of age. The Animal Protection Act says that dogs under 60 days old cannot be sold or adopted. Hong told a local reporter that he had simply "filled out the birth information (of the puppies) on behalf of the owners of the breeding facilities because they are old and have difficulty (writing).”

The BRN reported two dog auction houses run by Hong to the authorities for violating the Animal Protection Act and forging private documents. A total of 48 illegal breeding facilities that distributed dogs through those auction houses have also been reported, the BRN stated.