South Korea’s cloning genius Hwang Woo-suk didn’t get the eggs used in his research from the Easter Bunny:
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea pledged Friday to continue its support for cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-suk despite his resignation as the head of an international center for stem cell research in a controversy over the source of donor eggs.
A trained veterinarian, Hwang is a national hero and gained international renown for his breakthroughs, including cloning the world’s first human embryos and extracting stem cells from them. Earlier this year, he unveiled the world’s first cloned dog.
After more than a year of denying rumors that some eggs used in his experiment came from subordinate scientists, Hwang on Thursday acknowledged two scientists in his Seoul lab donated their own eggs for research.
He also acknowledged he had recently found out a hospital doctor paid some women for their eggs, and stepped down as director of the World Stem Cell Hub that he and international researchers announced just last month.
Under commonly observed international guidelines, scientists are advised to be cautious when using human subjects for research who are in a dependent relationship with them - a precaution against exploitation.
The Marmot reports that many Koreans are supporting Hwang, (comments at the post are well worth reading). Some are protesting the news station that broke the story and major banks are considering pulling ads.:
Netizens are planning a candlelight demonstration against MBC investigative program "PD Notebook," whose Tuesday edition accused Prof. Hwang of acquiring eggs from subordinate team members. Meanwhile, two firms have pulled advertisements from PD Notebook’s time slot, and Woori and Kookmin banks are discussing suspending their ads.
Supporting Hwang is understandable, and AsiaPundit hopes his career can recover. However, attacking the messenger will not help Hwang or his international reputation. If anything, that will reflect badly on Korea as a whole.
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