And he's still a national hero
From Reuters:
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's most famous scientist quit under a cloud on Friday and could face prosecution after investigators said results in a landmark 2005 paper on producing tailored embryonic stem cells were intentionally fabricated.
A panel from Seoul National University has been examining the work of Hwang Woo-suk, hitherto regarded in South Korea as a hero for bringing the country to the forefront of stem-cell and cloning studies -- and the world the first cloned dog.
His reputation lay ruined on Friday, and many in the country felt acutely embarrassed. The nine-member panel said in a statement the fabrication was "major misconduct that undermines the fundamentals of science."
It had launched the investigation after some of Hwang's former collaborators said key findings in their paper were false.
"Based on these findings, the data in 2005 was intentionally fabricated, not an accidental error," said Roe Jung-hye, the chief of Seoul National University's research office, at a televised news conference.
"It is difficult for Professor Hwang not to avoid taking major responsibility," Roe said, adding that the scale of the researcher's direct involvement was not yet clear. Hwang soon responded, but gave no immediate explanation.
"I am stepping down as a professor at Seoul National University to apologize for causing such big shocks and disappointment," he said in brief televised comments.
Just like the cold fusion debacle of the late 80's at the University of Utah, the much-lauded human stem cell pioneer Dr. Hwang Woo-Suk has been exposed as a charlatan. He has been labeled a fraud, since his research into human stem cell lines and cloning have been discredited and even the validity of his cloned dog is now in question. But, of course, the average South Korean doesn't believe a word of it.
As South Korea's top scientist Hwang Woo-suk falls from his lofty perch amid a wave of allegations questioning his research, the country's competitive culture of always hurrying -- coupled with a healthy sense of national pride and craving for international recognition -- could be partly to blame.
Hailed as the "Pride of Korea," Hwang and all of his purported breakthroughs are now being investigated by science journals and universities.
Emerging from relative obscurity to reveal the world's first cloned human embryo in 2004, Hwang racked up a series of amazing achievements. He claimed this year to have cloned stem cells matched to patients with never-before-seen efficiency, and also created the first-ever cloned dog.
As he announced one stride after another, the country rallied around him. Hwang, a trained veterinarian, was designated South Korea's first-ever "top scientist" in June by the government, winning special funding. The Foreign Ministry assigned a diplomat to assist him with international contacts.
Korean Air even gave Hwang and his wife free first-class flights for a decade, calling the scientist a "national treasure."
Not settling with Hwang's earlier success, the Ministry of Science and Technology pledged this year to make the country one of the eight world powers in the field, and "provide a liberal and stable research environment to brilliant researchers and generate the second, the third Hwang Woo-suk."
"The Hwang Woo-suk case is a good example that in Korean society there still exists remnants of the past experience of fast growth," said Park Gil-sung, a sociology professor at Korea University. "It's a problem of our social system that desires fast results."
LIfe lessons to be learned from this? Don't fabricate your findings. Science is an incredibly hard business. And South Koreans will always rally behind you, no matter how implausible your story.