Stem cell scientist gets suspended prison term

By Nam Hyun-woo

Hwang Woo-suk

The Supreme Court Thursday upheld a suspended jail term of one year and six months for two years issued to stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk after he was convicted on charges of embezzlement and violation of the Bioethics Law.

"The appellate court’s judgment that Hwang had concealed and used research funds invested on his research project was justifiable,” the top court said in its ruling.

It added that Hwang had violated the Bioethics Law by deducting sterilization fees for women who donating ova during his research.

The conviction of the scientist was confirmed eight years after the stem cell fabrication scandal broke out.

In 2004 and 2005, the veterinarian stunned the science world with papers published in the journal Science that claimed he had developed a stem cell line from cloned human embryos.

But as his research was found to be based on fabricated data, the papers were later retracted and he was prosecuted.

The 59-year-old was indicted on charges of misusing nearly 18 billion won in funds received from the government and two Korean firms ― SK Group and NongHyup ― and illegally using human ova in his research.

The top court also ruled that Seoul National University’s dismissal of Hwang was justifiable.

His fraudulent work not only tarnished his reputation but also cost him his professorate at the University in April 2006.

Hwang filed a complaint that his dismissal was unfair and that the high had court sided with him, ruling that: “The punishment was too heavy.”

However, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school, upholding the dismissal.

“The manipulation of data used for a science paper poses severe damage to not only subsequent research but also the entire science circle,” it stated in the ruling.

“If Hwang was not heavily punished, the University and the scientific circle would have problems regaining public trust. Thus, the high court’s ruling is hardly acceptable.”