Forum calls on government to replace animal testing

Participants of the forum against animal testing including Democratic Party lawmakers poses at the National Assembly on Tuesday. [HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL KOREA]

A forum to replace animal testing in the process of developing chemical substances and products took place at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

Hosted by Democratic Party (DP) representatives Nam In-soon, Han Jeoung-ae and Jeon Yong-gi, organized by the Humane Society International Korea (HIS Korea) and DP Rep. Lee Soo-jin, the forum raised the need for legislation to replace animal testing and use alternative testing led by the government such as the Ministry of Environment.

One of the key issues raised was the lack of commitment from the government and public institutions to replace animal testing and training of experts, in addition to the passive approach from private sectors to adopt such technologies due to low demand.

According to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, the number of animals sacrificed during tests for industrial chemical substances increased by more than 20 percent from 52,438 in 2019 to 65,205 in 2021.

“Replacing animal testing is not only a discussion on improving animal welfare,” said Borami Seo, HIS Korea director. “But also a means to promote scientific advances and improve public health.”

During the forum, Seo said the government should create a system that would provide communication and support between those developing technologies that would replace animal tests and its demand.

“Technologies to replace the ever-increasing trend of animal testing must be discussed as soon as possible so that an ethical and efficient research system can be established with a long-term perspective,” said Rep. Lee Soo-jin.

Lee submitted a reform bill in February on the Act on Registration and Evaluation of Chemical Substances enacted in 2015.

The reform bill reduces fees when companies submit test results conducted with alternative methods to animal testing.

The goal is to encourage the private sector to “proactively utilize animal-free approaches.”

Hoseo University professor Oh Seung-min acted as moderator and participants included Chemtopia CEO Park Sang-hee, KTR director Koh Sang-bum, Kim Jong-geuk from the Reliability Assurance Department at the Korea Environment Corporation, Biosolution senior researcher Lee Su-hyun, Korea Society for Alternatives to Animal Experiments chairman Kim Bae-hwan and animal rights activist Cho Eun-young.

Rep. Nam and Rep. Han submitted separate bills that promote animal-free testing in 2020 and 2022, respectively.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]