Disgraced Korean Cloning Expert Convicted, But No Jail Time

Hwang Woo-suk was was convicted of embezzling research funds and illegally buying human eggs for his research, but was cleared of the main charge of fraud. Prosecutors had asked for four years in prison, but Judge Bae Ki-yeol of Seoul Central District Court gave him a suspended sentence, with three years of probation. In making his ruling, the judge said Hwang had shown remorse.

Hwang's fall from grace began when questions about his research claims led to an investigation by a university committee. The committee concluded that a 2004 paper, published in the journal Science and claiming and Hwang and his team had created the world's first cloned human embryos (and had extracted stem cells from them). was based on faked data.

Doubt was also cast on a year later paper in the journal which stated that Hwang's team had created human embryonic stem cells genetically matched to specific patients. The journal Science retracted both papers.

Hwang, along with his Seoul National University team of scientists created the first known cloned dog, Snuppy, in 2005. He has concentrated on cloning canines since he was fired by the University. In 2006, Hwang Woo-suk was stripped of his ability to do stem cell research by the South Korean government.