Hwang gets suspended jail term for phony work
Published: 27 Oct. 2009, 01:47
Hwang Woo-suk
However, the court acquitted the disgraced scientist on the charge that he obtained research funds by exaggerating his research results - the fraud charge that has thus far hampered his resumption of stem cell research. “It is acknowledged that Hwang fabricated DNA fingerprinting and photographs in a 2004 paper and a stem cell chart in a 2005 paper,” said the Seoul Central District Court. The court also found him guilty of embezzling 590 million won ($501,489) in research fees and donations through a borrowed-name account for personal use.
“The court finding Hwang innocent of fraud charges is a natural outcome,” said Yoo Chul-min, a lawyer for Hwang. “Although it is regrettable that Hwang was convicted of embezzlement, the ruling seems to send a message that all researchers should be strict about using research funds.”
The lawyer added Hwang will “concentrate on research.”
Hwang claimed to have created the first human embryonic stem cell line from a cloned embryo and 11 stem cell lines tailored to individual patients.
Prosecutors indicted him without arrest in May 2006 for publishing fabrications, fraudulently receiving 2 billion won in research funds from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup, and SK, and paying 38 million won to women in return for extracting eggs for his research. Buying human eggs violates bioethics laws. In the papers he claimed stem cells can be extracted from a clone matched to a specific patient - a technique that was then hailed for opening new opportunities for cures to a range of diseases. Prosecutors argued Hwang, former Seoul National University professor, received the research funds by exaggerating the possibility that the stem cell therapies could be commercialized.
However, the court said, “Nonghyup and SK giving Hwang research funds was not based on his exaggeration of commercializing potential but on his success in creating human embryonic stem cells.” The court concluded that when Hwang was receiving the funds, he had no doubts about patient-specific stem cells from cloned embryos. As a supervisor of the research, he is deemed responsible for the fabrication but it cannot be considered fraud, the court added.
In August of this year, prosecutors demanded a four-year prison term for the scientist. His defense lawyer said there was no causal relationship between the paper and research funds. Since an initial trial in June 2006, 44 hearings have taken place with almost 60 witnesses attending. Hwang used 20 defense lawyers. The prosecution said it has yet to decide whether or not to file an appeal.
The Hwang scandal erupted when allegations arose that he had used eggs from junior colleagues for his cloning study in the 2005 paper, which he admitted. Then accusations emerged that he had fabricated some of the results. Soon after, Seoul National University launched an investigation. Hwang stepped down in late December 2006.
The court also sentenced Kim Sun-jong, Hwang’s former lieutenant, to a suspended two-year prison term and three years of probation. He was found guilty of smuggling in vitro-fertilized stem cells from a private fertility clinic to mix with the cell mass at Hwang’s lab to support the claim that Hwang’s team had cultivated patient-specific stem cells. Two of Hwang’s key associates - Lee Byung-chun and Kang Sung-keun, incumbent and former Seoul National University professors - were sentenced to fines of 30 million won and 10 million won, respectively, for illicitly pocketing state-provided research funds.
Hwang succeeded in cloning a dog he named Snuppy, named after Seoul National University, his alma mater.
By Seo Ji-eun [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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