Acupuncture needle removed from lung of former South Korean president

The former president of South Korea was admitted to hospital with a bad cough only to end up on the operating table to remove an acupuncture needle from his right lung.

Roh Tae-woo, 78, who served as South Korean president from 1988 to 1993, has been in poor health since 2002 when he received surgery for prostate cancer.

He was released from Seoul National University Hospital on Monday after surgery to remove the 2.6 inch needle. Doctors are puzzled how the needle ended up in his lung, and acupuncturists say that none of their procedures involved penetrating the lung.

"I can't figure out how the needle got into there," Dr Sung Myung-whun said at the hospital after the operation. "It is a mystery for me, too."