SEOUL, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The South Korean scientist accused of faking what was thought to be groundbreaking research in cloning and stem cells has been stripped of state honors.
The government Wednesday stripped Dr. Hwang Woo-suk of his title as "top scientist" which carried with it a $3 million grant and a bodyguard.
The BBC reports prosecutors are considering charging Hwang with fraud and embezzlement of $29 million from the government.
Hwang, the first person to have cloned a dog, is accused of altering and faking research in 2004 and 2005 into other embryonic cloning and stem cell work.
He claims the work was sabotaged.
Chung Un-chan, the head of Seoul National University where Hwang worked, apologized at a national news conference Wednesday.
He called the fake work "an unwashable blemish."
