Hwang Says He Will Clone Again

Hwang Woo-suk of Korean cloning fiasco fame has gathered private funds to open a cloning and stem cell research center, and he plans to do so as early as next month, according to news reports today.

Dr Hwang Woo-suk, South Korean “cloning pioneer” has announced plans to open a new laboratory next month to resume research. This was revealed today by his lawyer, Lee Geon-haeng.

Lee said the researcher had managed to obtain private funds to open a laboratory in Seoul early next month. "Dr Hwang feels that the only way to win people's forgiveness and reclaim his honour is to resume research and show accomplishments," Mr Lee said in a telephone interview. "He's executing his plans very carefully in efforts not to stir any misunderstanding."

He does, however, face a few rather significant obstacles:

Hwang will resume his research together with members of his old staff, who used to work with him at the SNU, but he is worried he will not be able to procure enough human eggs for this type of research. The South Korean Health Ministry, after the scandal, revoked his licence and forbade him from cloning human embryos or from receiving eggs from national reserves. It is not yet clear how the researcher intends to overcome this obstacle.

Hwang is currently facing trial for the misappropriation of state and private funds worth an estimated 2.8 billion won (around 2.5 million euros) and for buying the eggs needed for his experiments, a practice forbidden by the country’s bioethics law.