British boy who went into brain death after playing 'Gijeolnori'... Dies after life support withdrawal

The late Archie Battersby. Photo by AP, Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] A British boy who fell into a brain-dead state while playing 'Kijeolnori' has ultimately passed away.

According to The Guardian in the UK on the 6th (local time), Archie Battersby (12 years old) recently had life support withdrawn and died that day at Royal London Hospital.

Archie was found unconscious after playing the 'Kijeolnori' challenge, which was trending on social networking services (SNS), on April 7. He was immediately taken to the hospital but had already suffered fatal brain damage and fallen into a coma. Since then, Archie had been kept alive with a ventilator and medication.

The hospital medical staff judged that life support would be futile because Archie’s brainstem was dead, but his parents wanted to continue life support.

Archie’s parents filed a lawsuit in the local court to continue life support. However, they lost in both the first and second trials, and the Supreme Court also dismissed their appeal. They also filed an urgent injunction with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to prevent the withdrawal of treatment, but it was not accepted.

Subsequently, the parents filed a lawsuit to move their son to a hospice (a facility where patients near the end of life stay), but it was dismissed. The court ruled that Archie’s condition was unstable and that even a short-distance transfer could be dangerous, so he should remain in the hospital.

Eventually, the hospital notified the parents on the 5th that "Archie’s life support devices must be removed at 10 a.m. the next day," and Archie passed away on the 6th.

Archie’s mother, Holly Dance, said, "Archie passed away at 12:15 p.m. He fought until the very end, and I am proud to be his mother."

The hospital administration stated, "Archie’s tragic case has saddened not only his family and relatives but also many people nationwide."

Meanwhile, Kijeolnori is an act of strangling the neck to experience a euphoric state just before fainting, which recently became popular on SNS and short-form media, sparking controversy. In Korea, it has also been used as a means to harass others, such as a form of school violence.