Seoul, 25 November 2021 (dpa/MIA) — South Korea's government plans to set up an advisory committee on the issue of banning the controversial consumption of dog meat in the country. The planned 20-member committee will be composed of experts, members of private organizations and government officials, the Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday. The aim is to promote discussion on the contentious issue, it said. The controversy over dog meat consumption has been around for more than 30 years, Prime Minister Kim Boo Kyum said at a government coordination meeting, according to national news agency Yonhap. It started when the 1988 Olympic Games were held in Seoul, he said. The planned committee is supposed to reach a "social consensus" on the issue by next April. The debate recently gained momentum after President Moon Jae In suggested in September that Koreans should "carefully review a ban on dog meat consumption." Moon is considered a dog lover. Animal rights activists have been trying in vain for years to enforce a legal ban on dog meat consumption in South Korea. The Korean Dog Meat Association, among others, is fighting against this. With the strong increase in private households with pets and the growing interest in animal rights, there are more and more voices against seeing "dog meat consumption as part of the old food culture," said Prime Minister Kim.