Comment on Cloning whistle-blower: little change in S. Korea

Cloning whistle-blower: little change in S. Korea

CHUNCHEON, South Korea (AP) — The whistle-blower who exposed breakthrough cloning research as a devastating fake says South Korea is still dominated by the values that allowed science fraudster Hwang Woo-suk to become an almost untouchable national hero. The revelations in 2005 rocked South Korea which had celebrated Hwang's research as a historic achievement, focused unfavorable international attention on the country and diminished the reputation of its scientific establishment. The memory of the scandal is still painful today and Hwang, though convicted of embezzlement and violating bioethical laws, discredited and relegated to the scientific backwater of pet cloning, retains a loyal following among sections of the public and media. When Japanese scientists took the Noble Physics prize this year, South Korean media was stuffed with analysis and handwringing about how Japan has taken 19 Nobel prizes in the field of science while South Korea has none. Hwang in 2005 had claimed a significant advance in the cloning of human embryonic stem cells, which are a medical holy grail for their ability to become any type of human cell. The research published in the prestigious journal Science said Hwang and his team used 185 eggs to establish 11 cell lines, a major advance from his research published in 2004 which claimed it took 242 eggs to create just one cell line. In 2005, South Korea's government approached biotechnology like it had supported exporters of computer chips and cars years earlier: an engine for the country's growth that would make Koreans rich and win foreign recognition. [...] the programs led Seoul National University to open an investigation, which concluded that no embryonic stem cell lines were created and the articles in Science in 2004 and 2005 were based on fabricated data. Ryu also returned to science but it wasn't until 2007 that he was able to find his first job following the scandal. [...] he earned a Ph.D in bioethics. Han Hak-soo, the journalist at MBC who exposed Hwang's fraud based on Ryu's tips, said a "cartel" among the government, the media and academia turns a blind eye to ethical problems in South Korean society.

 

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