Daejeon City is considering adding Neukgu, the wolf that escaped from O-World and was later captured alive, to its roster of regional symbol characters. After the predator's escape drew nationwide attention, the city is exploring ways to use it as a regional promotion asset. But some say the move puts buzz ahead of identifying the cause of the incident and determining responsibility.
According to Daejeon City on the 21st, Mayor Lee Jang-woo instructed officials during a weekly work meeting at City Hall on the 20th to consider adding Neukgu as a new character to "Kkumssi Family." The move reflects the recent surge of interest in Neukgu.
Neukgu has indeed been generating all kinds of buzz in the Daejeon area recently. A local bakery is selling bread shaped like Neukgu's face. A message reading "Neukgu, thank you for coming back" appeared on the electronic billboard on the outer wall of a large electronics store. The Hanwha Eagles of professional baseball won two straight road games after Neukgu was captured, and Daejeon Hana Citizen of professional soccer also won an away match against FC Seoul. Online, some are calling Neukgu a "victory fairy."
However, Neukgu is not just a viral animal but a predator that could have led to casualties. The "standard response manual for animal escapes" prepared in 2019 by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment classifies escaped animals by risk level, and wolves fall into the "risk group" that can inflict fatal harm on visitors and keepers. In other words, this escape could have escalated into a major accident.
Because of this, some say priority should be given not to character development but to investigating the circumstances of the incident and crafting measures to prevent a recurrence. Five local groups, including the Daejeon Green Party and the Daejeon Chungnam Green Federation, recently issued a statement saying, "The responsible agencies must first reflect on the repeated escapes of exhibition wild animals," and, "They must faithfully undergo an investigation into the cause of this incident and take responsibility for their mistakes." They also said, "They must not use Neukgu to drum up visitors."
Daejeon City also plans to conduct a comprehensive audit to determine whether oversight and supervision of O-World were inadequate. Daejeon City Corporation, which operates O-World, is a public enterprise under the city. Daejeon City Corporation President Jeong Guk-young said of the incident, "We created an opening and there were shortcomings on our part." The point was that although wolves are known to dig tunnels, preparations for that were insufficient.
O-World has had similar incidents in the past. In 2018, a puma escaped from its enclosure and was shot dead, and at the time Daejeon City, based on the audit results, sought heavy disciplinary action for the O-World director and the animal management team leader and lighter disciplinary action for working-level staff.
Some also say incorporating Neukgu into the regional character "Kkumssi Family" does not fit the existing identity. Kkumssi Family is a family of alien life-form characters created around the 1993 Daejeon Expo mascot "Kumdori." It currently consists of 16 members, including parents, siblings, children, and a pet dog. There is already a pet dog character named "Mongmong," a wolf from a comet, leading some to say the concept would overlap.
A Daejeon City Corporation official said, "We are only at the review stage, so nothing has been decided yet." Still, inside and outside city hall, debate continues over whether it is appropriate to discuss a symbol character first while procedures to determine responsibility are still underway.