“Got it online” ... Middle schooler bitten while trying to sell highly venomous cobra is busted after calling 119

[Financial News] A teenage middle school boy who tried to illegally sell a highly venomous cobra he had been keeping at a residence such as an apartment was bitten on the back of his hand and rushed to hospital. When he called 119 for help, evidence of illegal keeping and trading came to light, and he now faces a police investigation.
The Cheongju Seowon Police Station in North Chungcheong Province and fire authorities said on the 22nd that they had received a report on the 20th that A, a 14-year-old boy, had been bitten by a cobra at an apartment in Seowon-gu, Cheongju.
A was reportedly bitten on the back of his hand while taking the “Forest Cobra” he had been keeping out of its enclosure to sell it to someone else. He showed symptoms of paralysis shortly after being bitten and was taken to a local general hospital for emergency treatment. He was then urgently transferred by helicopter to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, where he received antivenom treatment. His life is not currently in danger.
The Forest Cobra involved in the incident is a deadly venomous snake that carries neurotoxins. Under the current Wildlife Protection and Management Act (Wildlife Act), it is classified as “designated wildlife subject to management,” whose import, possession and distribution are strictly controlled. To prevent disruption to ecosystems and harm to people, the government permits trade only in species on its “white list (888 species)”—those considered harmless to humans—and only after the proper reporting procedures have been followed. The Forest Cobra is not on the list, so private individuals are completely prohibited from keeping or transferring it.
Investigators found that A had illegally acquired the snake through an online community (internet café) and had been secretly keeping it at his residence.
A police official said, “Once A has recovered, we plan to thoroughly investigate how the cobra was smuggled into the country and obtained, as well as the circumstances surrounding attempts to trade it illegally online.” The official added, “Based on the findings, we will make a final decision on whether to pursue charges for violating the Wildlife Act and formally book him as a suspect.”

[email protected] Moon Young-jin Reporter