1 in 5 S. Koreans have pets

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- Pet ownership in South Korea has been growing fast in recent years in line with its low birthrate and population aging with 1 in 5 Koreans owning pets, a government report showed Sunday.

According to the report by the farm ministry, pet-owning households came to 4.57 million in 2015, accounting for 21.8 percent of the total households in the country and up 3.9 percentage points from three years earlier. The figure means that nearly 10 million South Koreans had pets that year.

In tandem with the surge in pet owners, the country's pet industry has been growing at a fast clip. Over the cited period, the local pet industry doubled to 1.8 trillion won (US$1.57 billion) from 900 billion won.

The economic think tank of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation has estimated South Korea's pet market to reach as high as 5.8 trillion won in 2020, more than triple its current size.

Despite the country's prolonged economic sluggishness, retailers and online shoppers have registered sharp rises in their sales of pet products.

Lotte Department Store, one of the country's largest retailers, saw sales of pet supplies soaring 22.5 percent in 2016 from the previous year, far outperforming a mere 1.8 percent gain in overall sales.

Online mall 11st Street chalked up a 40 percent on-year spike in sales of pet goods last year, with this year's sales surging more than 20 percent. Ticket Monster, South Korea's No. 3 e-commerce operator, also saw its sales of pet products shoot up 50 percent on-year in 2016.

The government report also said more than 80,000 pets are abandoned by owners each year, with the cost of handling them soaring 23.5 percent on-year to 12.9 billion won in 2015.

In addition, pet abuse has been on the rise with 287 accusations lodged with authorities in 2015, up from 160 cases two year earlier, according to the report.
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