SEOUL, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Just months ago, cloning expert Hwang Woo-suk was hailed as a South Korean hero who brought the country to the global forefront of stem cell research, raising hopes of cures for hard-to-treat diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and diabetes.
Hwang, a veterinary professor at Seoul National University, was honored as South Korea's first-ever state-designated "supreme scientist" on the back of his stunning scientific claims that included the world's first cloned human embryos and the world's first cloned dog.
The South Korean government, which has designated biotechnology as the country's next-generation growth engine, poured some $64.8 million in research funds into Hwang's work since 1998 and had planned to give him $20.2 million next year.
Hwang was even made into a religious icon who was idolized. Young students and scientist hopefuls made pilgrimages to Hwang's birthplace, south of Seoul, to learn about "Dr. Hwang's spirits."
When South Korea opened the World Stem Cell Hub headed by Hwang in October, a bank to create and supply new lines of embryonic stem cells for scientists around the world, tens of thousands of people flooded the institute to submit patient registration requests.
Up until last week when Hwang's work came under a cloud of suspicion after his collaborator claimed much-touted patient-specific stem cell colonies never existed, support for Hwang was still high in South Korea.
Patients and their families staged candlelight vigils to save the embattled cloning expert who was already under a cloud from a scandal over the origin of ova used in his research. He was accused of unethically procuring human eggs.
But Hwang lost much of his sheen as a pioneering stem cell scientist as it was found he faked stem cell research published in the U.S. journal Science this year.
In a May paper in the journal, Hwang claimed to have created 11 stem-cell lines matched to patients in a breakthrough in creating tailored therapies for hard-to-treat diseases. But on Friday, South Korean investigators confirmed that faked results of at least nine of 11 stem-cell lines he claimed to have created in a "deliberate fabrication" undermined the credibility of science.
"Hwang's team had reported it had 11 patient-tailored stem cell lines, but there were only two stem cell lines on March 15 when it submitted its paper to the journal Science," said an interim report read by Roh Jung-hae, the research head at Seoul National University.
The university's nine-member panel examined Hwang's work after allegations by his co-author that key findings in their Science paper on producing tailored embryonic stem cells were fabricated.
"After analyzing the data published in Science, we concluded that the glitch could not have been made by simple mistake but by deliberate manipulation," Roh told a news conference.
The two stem cells also have yet to be confirmed to be patient-tailored stem cells, she said. The veracity of the two stem cells has yet to be verified. The panel said it would reveal the result of DNA test within a few days.
Hwang's data fabrication is a "grave act that damages the foundation of scientific research," Roh said, indicating stern punishment of Hwang. "It is inevitable for professor Hwang to be disciplined in light of the evidences of fabrication that have so far been revealed."
The panel said it would investigate Hwang's other research, including another Science article in 2004 on the world's first cloned human embryos, and an August 2005 paper in the journal Nature on the first-ever cloned dog.
In August, Hwang's team stunned the world by announcing it had succeeded in producing the first cloned dog, saying cloning was designed to only help investigate human disease, including the possibility of cloning stem cells for treatment purposes. Time magazine called Hwang's cloning of a dog this year's most amazing invention.
Hwang gained world attention for his cloning breakthroughs, such as cloning the world's first human embryos and extracting stem cells from them. He admitted data manipulation "to a certain degree," but insisted his team does indeed possess the technology to produce the patient-tailored embryonic stem cells.
The disgraced scientist offered his resignation to the faculty at the country's top university.
"I give up my professorship at Seoul National University in an attempt to offer my earnest apology to the people for disappointing them," Hwang told reporters at the university.
But he said the technology used to produce patient-tailored embryonic stem cells is purely South Korean, promising he will prove it in the future. On Thursday, Hwang sought an investigation into whether his stem cell lines were switched at his partner's lab.
The Ministry of Science and Technology issued a statement to express regret at the scandal, saying that it will take necessary measures, including the retraction of funding toward Hwang's research. The government is also expected to strip Hwang of his state title of "supreme scientist."
A group of South Korean scientists urged the government to punish Hwang, describing his stem cell research as a "scam." Scieng.net, an online association of some 17,500 researchers and engineers, said in a statement the credibility of South Korean science has been seriously undermined and young researchers were greatly shaken by the scandal.
