Tuesday, December 06, 2005
South Korean President Wants Dr Hwang Back
I haven't seen anyone get this much of a pass from the press and government since...well, Bill Clinton...
Embryonic stem cell research scientist Hwang Woo-suk may have created an international scandal for admitting he lied about egg donations made by female junior researchers, but the president of South Korea wants him back in the laboratory
Wait, it gets better:
Revelations that he covered up for members of his research team who unethically donated their own eggs for research caused those relationship bridges to collapse.
But South Korea President Roh Moo-hyun wants him back in the saddle.
Presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo told Reuters, "He is looking forward to Prof. Hwang returning to research as early as possible and giving hope to the number of patients suffering from incurable diseases who await the result of the research, as well as to the people in the country."
Roh said the South Korean government would continue to support Hwang's research and provide him with substantial taxpayer backing.
"The president said he conveys his words of solace for the pain suffered by Prof. Hwang and his team during the course of their work," he told Reuters.
But some of Dr Hwang's colleagues are not happy:
Despite the government support, other researchers in South Korea worry about the effect the scandal will have on them, including their efforts to be published in foreign medical journals.
"More Koreans are writing for foreign magazines and we're worried about how this will affect us," Yang Yoon-sun, head of Medipost, a Seoul-based biotechnology firm, told the JoongAng Daily newspaper.
But overall the message to Dr Hwang is: "Come back, all is forgiven!"
Embryonic stem cell research scientist Hwang Woo-suk may have created an international scandal for admitting he lied about egg donations made by female junior researchers, but the president of South Korea wants him back in the laboratory
Wait, it gets better:
Revelations that he covered up for members of his research team who unethically donated their own eggs for research caused those relationship bridges to collapse.
But South Korea President Roh Moo-hyun wants him back in the saddle.
Presidential spokesman Kim Man-soo told Reuters, "He is looking forward to Prof. Hwang returning to research as early as possible and giving hope to the number of patients suffering from incurable diseases who await the result of the research, as well as to the people in the country."
Roh said the South Korean government would continue to support Hwang's research and provide him with substantial taxpayer backing.
"The president said he conveys his words of solace for the pain suffered by Prof. Hwang and his team during the course of their work," he told Reuters.
But some of Dr Hwang's colleagues are not happy:
Despite the government support, other researchers in South Korea worry about the effect the scandal will have on them, including their efforts to be published in foreign medical journals.
"More Koreans are writing for foreign magazines and we're worried about how this will affect us," Yang Yoon-sun, head of Medipost, a Seoul-based biotechnology firm, told the JoongAng Daily newspaper.
But overall the message to Dr Hwang is: "Come back, all is forgiven!"
papijoe 9:41 AM
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