Cloning expert resigns

2005-11-24 10:39

Hwang Woo-suk publicly apologised for ethics lapses, admitting two female scientists in his lab donated their own eggs for research, in a setback for the work that has raised hopes worldwide. (Lee Jin-man, AP)

Seoul - South Korean cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-Suk resigned on Thursday after admitting that two junior researchers in his team had donated eggs and that other women had received money for eggs used in his landmark research on human embryos.

"I feel so sorry to speak about such shameful and miserable things to you people," he said in his first public comments on a scandal that has been brewing for months concerning the origin of ova used in his research.

"I again sincerely apologise for having caused concern at home and abroad."

Hwang said he was resigning all his official posts including the chairmanship of a new research body, the World Stem Cell Hub, established last month to produce stem cell lines here.

"As of today I am resigning from the chairmanship of the World Stem Cell Hub and all other official responsibilities I held at government and social organisations," he said.

"This is my way of seeking repentance."

Government back Hwang

The South Korean government said on Thursday that Hwang had done no wrong despite receiving ova from junior researchers and other women who received payments.

"There were no breaches of legal or ethical standards in the course of obtaining human eggs for the research," said a spokesperson for the ministry of health and welfare.

Hwang and his team at Seoul National University made headlines in February 2004 when they announced the first-ever cloning of human embryos, from which they harvested "therapeutic" embryonic stem cells. This year they unveiled the world's first cloned dog.

But ethical questions came to the fore this month when Gerald Schatten, a prominent researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, severed a 20-month collaboration with Hwang, citing ethical breaches.

- AFP