Actress Koo Sa-rang, 8, has been accused of abusing her cat while unboxing gifts from BTS member Jimin. The allegation stems from a video she uploaded to her YouTube channel.
The video showed her unwrapping a box of gifts sent by the K-pop singer, whom she performed with at SBS Gayo Daejeon in December.
While she was taking out the gifts, she was shown pushing the cat off to stop it from climbing into the box.
As the video went on, she continued to push the cat away, tossing it onto the floor and slapping its face, yelling "I told you to stop touching."
When the video spread, people began to point out that her handling of the pet was aggressive and accused her of animal abuse.
Koo's mother took down the video and posted an apology on social media, saying: "Sa-rang is regretting her words and actions." She explained that Koo was excited at the time and emphasized it won't happen again.
"Sa-rang has apologized to Louis (the cat) and promised to take better care of it," she said.
But despite the apology, people continued to share the video and show anger toward the young actress' behavior. Her agency J&K Entertainment expressed concern over Koo being under such pressure.
The agency told local news outlet MK News: "We are worried Koo might suffer from harsh comments from the malicious editing (of the video)."
The actress' social media accounts, including YouTube and Twitter, have been deleted.
She has featured in numerous commercials and has been appearing in SBS kids' cooking show "A delicious cooking class."
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2020/01/688_282326.html