CHEONGJU — A 14-year-old middle school student in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, was airlifted to a hospital after being bitten by a venomous cobra he had been keeping at his home, authorities said. Police are investigating how he obtained the snake and whether it was traded illegally.
According to the North Chungcheong Fire Headquarters and the Cheongju Cheongwon Police Station, a report came in at about 11:25 p.m. on the 20th that a middle school student, identified only as A, 14, had been bitten on the back of his hand by a cobra at an apartment in Cheongju's Seowon District. The agencies disclosed the case on the 22nd.
Paramedics who responded to the call took the student to Chungbuk National University Hospital about 40 minutes later. The hospital said it could treat him but was unable to admit him as an inpatient, forcing responders to look for another facility.
The emergency medical control center then contacted 15 hospitals to check whether any could accept the patient. Rescuers ultimately mobilized a National Fire Agency helicopter and moved the student to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at about 2:20 a.m. the following day.
The student received treatment there and is not in life-threatening condition, officials said.
A police investigation found that the snake was a forest cobra, a highly venomous species also known as the black cobra or the black-lipped cobra.
The student is believed to have bought the cobra through an online community and raised it at home.
Police believe he was bitten on the back of the hand while trying to sell the snake to another person.
Cobras are subject to restrictions on imports, trading and possession under South Korean law.
"Cobras are designated as animals whose sale and possession are banned under the Wildlife Protection and Management Act and other laws," a police official said. "We are investigating how the cobra was sold and kept."