South Korea said Thursday it will allow research on creating stem cells through human embryonic cloning despite a scandal involving a prominent scientist in the field, according to AP. Such research has been suspended in South Korea since last year's downfall of Hwang Woo-suk, a scientist once regarded as a national hero for internationally hailed work in cloning and stem cell research that was later shown to be falsified. Hwang had been the only South Korean scientist allowed to conduct research on cloning human embryos. But the government stripped him of the license last year after he was found to have falsely claimed breakthroughs in creating stem cells from cloned human embryos. Hwang's license had been issued on a temporary basis on conditions that only Hwang could meet. But the Health Ministry said Thursday that it would abolish the conditions by revising related laws, and would allow other scientists to conduct cloning research on a limited basis. Stem cells are master cells that can grow into any bodily tissues, which scientists say could lead to revolutionary new cures for hard-to-treat diseases. The proposed revision would allow scientists to use only eggs set to be destroyed after fertility treatments or from other lawful uses, the Health Ministry said. Scientists seeking to do such work would need to get a license from the government, the ministry said. The move «is expected to secure ethics and safety of bioscience research,» the ministry said in a statement. Hwang was fired from the prestigious Seoul National University and was put on trial for allegedly accepting funds under false pretenses, embezzlement and illegally purchasing human eggs for research. Hwang has moved his research base to Thailand to avoid the ethical disputes his work would cause in South Korea, according to a scientist close to Hwang.
