Hwang back in a lab, but his profile is low

Hwang Woo-suk, the disgraced stem cell researcher who is still fighting court cases connected with his admittedly fabricated research results, is back in a laboratory. Mr. Hwang, who was fired from his faculty position at Seoul National University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting cloning experiments at a private laboratory in eastern Seoul. Corporate documents filed by Mr. Hwang, whose contents were confirmed yesterday by the Science Ministry, say the laboratory is part of a foundation called the Suam Life Engineering Research Center. The foundation had been established some time ago, but the documentation had not included an office address. Late last month, the lab’s location was indicated as being in the Guro Digital Complex. Mr. Hwang and Park Byung-soo, a South Chungcheong native from the same hometown, Buyeo, as the scientist, are co-founders of the research center. Mr. Park runs a private school in his home province. The application to establish the center, which has listed assets of 2.5 billion won ($2.6 million), was approved by the Science Ministry on July 14 and began operating about two weeks ago. “Anyone can establish a foundation if the purposes are sound and they have the research facilities,” a ministry official said. There were eight research categories mentioned in the documents as special interests of the foundation. They included the development of biological textile products, research on animal stem cells and cloning and research on the production of animal organs. The research center is in a building used by Pan-Pacific Co., a clothing exporter, and entry by outsiders is barred. Real estate agents in the neighborhood say Mr. Hwang’s lawyers originally tried to buy some high-rise factory units in the area, but decided against it because of the number of transients in the area, which would make it difficult to keep curiosity-seekers at bay. The agents said Mr. Hwang signed a contract for the laboratory space only on July 20, acquiring about 500 square meters (5,000 square feet) of space. Lim Byong-tae, the chairman of Pan-Pacific, is also from Buyeo, and graduated from the same high school (Daejeon High School) and university (Seoul National University) as Mr. Hwang. But in a telephone interview, Mr. Lim said he met Mr. Hwang for the first time last month when they signed the rental agreement. Mr. Hwang reportedly has employed about 20 graduate students at the Seoul National University veterinary college ― most of the graduate students he worked with there. One graduate student who joined Mr. Hwang said, “We’re starting from zero in a serene state of mind, pioneering new roads. I’m going to seek a degree based on the research results achieved under Dr. Hwang.” Lee Geon-haeng, Mr. Hwang’s lawyer, worried about the effects any media reports would have. “If the laboratory is exposed, we’re afraid he won’t be able to work,” he said. Mr. Lee had said earlier several times that Mr. Hwang did not wish to publicize the opening of his lab and that the scientist wanted to keep a low profile. by Shim Jae-woo, Lim Jang-hyuk