Cobra Bite in Cheongju Exposes Risks of Korea’s Illegal Exotic Pet Trade
A 14-year-old boy was hospitalized after being bitten by a forest cobra he allegedly obtained and tried to sell through an online community, prompting a police investigation into the prohibited trade and possession of dangerous wild animals.
A cobra bite involving a middle school student in Cheongju has drawn renewed attention to the illegal ownership and online trading of dangerous exotic animals in South Korea.
Police said the 14-year-old boy was bitten on the back of his hand Tuesday while taking a forest cobra out of its cage to sell it to another person. An emergency call was made to the 119 rescue service after the teenager showed signs of paralysis. He was airlifted from Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where he received antivenom treatment.
The boy had reportedly obtained the snake through an online community. A forest cobra is classified as a designated wild animal under South Korea’s Wildlife Protection and Management Act, meaning that keeping or trading the species is prohibited in principle. Police plan to trace how the snake changed hands and then decide whether to formally book the student.
The case illustrates the immediate public-safety and health risks created when venomous or otherwise dangerous animals are traded outside legal controls. It also raises questions about access to restricted species through online groups, particularly when minors are involved. The police investigation is expected to focus on the transaction route as well as the circumstances under which the cobra was kept.
The incident follows another recent case involving an illegally kept exotic animal. In July, authorities identified a crocodile captured in a stream in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, as a Siamese crocodile. That species is listed as a Class 1 internationally endangered species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Police booked a man in his 30s on allegations that he had kept the crocodile after buying it for 1.2 million won through an online reptile-trading community in 2023. The episode highlighted how private possession can create risks beyond the owner if an animal escapes into a public area.
South Korean courts have previously imposed prison terms for unlawful possession of protected wildlife. In 2016, a social media personality received a four-month prison sentence for violating the Wildlife Protection and Management Act after keeping a Siamese crocodile at home for eight years.
The Cheongju investigation remains at an early stage, and police have not yet announced whether the teenager will face formal charges.