Attempting to trade a cobra leads to a dangerous bite. Today's hot topic is quite absurd.

A middle schooler was caught attempting to illegally trade a cobra.

He was caught after being bitten squarely on the back of his hand by the cobra he was raising.

On October 20, a 119 emergency report was received stating that a middle schooler, identified as A, had been bitten on the hand by a cobra at an apartment in Cheongju.

Showing symptoms of paralysis, A was airlifted to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital where he received antivenom treatment.

He is reportedly not in life-threatening condition.

According to the investigation, A was bitten after taking out a forest cobra that he had been raising in order to sell it to someone else.

The forest cobra is a highly venomous species of cobra, and in South Korea, its import and trade are strictly restricted as a designated managed wildlife species.

A reportedly acquired the snake through an online community and had been raising it.

Police plan to determine whether to file formal charges against A after investigating the circumstances surrounding the cobra trade.