IT IS a new low for South Korea鈥檚 disgraced cloning king Woo Suk Hwang. On 12 May he was indicted on charges of fraud, embezzlement and violating Korea鈥檚 bioethics law. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in jail.
The charges follow revelations that Hwang鈥檚 team fabricated evidence for having created cloned human embryonic stem cells, and breached ethical guidelines in obtaining human eggs for the project. Hwang now stands accused of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in funding and embezzling some $3 million of the money he received, allegedly lavishing part of it on gifts for his wife and national politicians.
Hwang had maintained the scientific fraud was perpetrated by a junior on his team, Sun Jong Kim, who then worked at MizMedi Hospital in Seoul. Prosecutors acknowledge that Kim may have misled Hwang into thinking he had managed to create some cloned stem cells, but they claim that Hwang orchestrated the fabrication of evidence for further cell lines. Kim is charged with destroying evidence, and four other members of the team have also been indicted 鈥� three for fraud, and one for bioethics violations.
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