As the Hwang Woo-suk saga turns, attention is now focusing on allegations that Dr. Hwang gave junior researchers large amounts of money to shut them up. The Chosun Ilbo started the fun with a report Tuesday that researcher Kim Seon-jong, currently at the University of Pittsburgh, received US$30,000 from Hwang. Kim had previously told broadcaster MBC that he cooked results that got published in Hwang’s 2005 paper in Science, but recanted the confession after a gift-laden visit by Prof. Ahn Cu-rie of Seoul National University and Prof. Yoon Hyun-soo of Hanyang University. The source said the money was supposedly compensation for "mental stress" suffered by Kim thanks to the strong-arm tactics of these mean, mean men from MBC.
Kim did, in fact, spend some 10 days in the hospital following his interview with MBC. This leads us to the next rumor going around, namely, that the researcher has tried to take his own life after spilling the beans to MBC. Prof. Yoon of Hanyang University said the money he gave Kim (actually, Kim’s father) was to help cover the researcher’s medical expenses. He also said that on Nov. 13, researcher Park Jong-hyeok called Hwang and told kim Kim was severely vomiting, had lost consciousness and might die. A key Hwang insider said analysis of chemicals detected in Kim’s stomach led Prof. Ahn of SNU to judge it a suicide attempt. People from Hwang’s team say Kim’s attempted suicide was due to the fact that once Hwang turned over the stem cells rather than just the patients’ somatic cells, it would become clear that the junior researcher had swapped stem cells. Or something to that effect.
Also going ’round are reports that one of the bagmen that brought the money from Hwang to Kim was a YTN reporter, and that YTN has played a role in covering up the scandal. Should come as a surprise–the Oranckay has said as much about YTN’s handling of the fiasco so far. Should come as no surprise, too, that the head of Hwang’s online personality cult, "I Love Hwang Woo-suk," used to work for YTN.
Lastly, we have an SBS report (via the Chosun Ilbo) claiming that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was involved in the money transfers to Kim. The NIS is denying the report.
More on this later. But first, I would like to state for the record that the Marmot’s Hole categorically denies all reports and rumors (not that there are any) that we played a role in transferring large sums of money to researcher Kim Seon-jong. We also deny any involvement in the alleged switching out of stem cells from Hwang’s lab. Just so you know.
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7 Comments
You know, people will say, “Oh, yeah…the cloning scandal” whenever a Korean will identify himself as such while traveling abroad–kind of like people used to say, “Oh, yeah…Ben Johnson” whenever I told them I’m Canadian.
for a good laugh http://cafe.daum.net/ilovehws look at the free writing
hwang didnt invent cloning but koreans already come out as clones
same same same
Ouch, it just keeps getting messier and messier.
Just when you thought Hwang couldn’t sink any lower. Now he’s got the gaul to try to get some mileage out of his subordinate’s supposed suicide attempt? Man. How is anyone supposed to believe anything that comes out of his mouth again? Clones or no clones? Real or fabricated data? Results or attempts at saving face internationally?
Throw this into the mix now, and the confusion gets even more confused.
http://english.chosun.com/w21d.....80029.html
I’m glad these sorts of revelations keep coming out. Korea needs to have its collective nose rubbed in this sort of mess until they clean up their act. Only then will the nation improve for all Koreans and not just the sneaky ones.
R.Elgin, I agree with you, but the true test of whether Korea gets its collective act together is legislation being passed to creat an ethics oversight committee in the Science Ministry to review all gov’t-funded projects, and a special budget for mandatory ethics classes (preferably starting in middle school), or similar. But none of this is happening.
Until there’s institutional reform, “the sneaky ones” will run the show.