S.Korea charges stem cell scientist with fraud

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By Jon Herskovitz | May 12, 2006

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean stem cell scientist once hailed as a national hero has been charged with criminal fraud and embezzlement, a senior prosecutor said on Friday.

Prosecutors have been investigating the team led by scientist Hwang Woo-suk since January after a panel at the university where he once worked said his team deliberately fabricated key data in two research papers.

Senior prosecutor Lee In-kyu told reporters that Hwang had been charged with fraud, embezzlement and bioethics law violations over the suspected illegal procurement of human ova.

Lee said in a statement Hwang was the mastermind of an elaborate scheme to manipulate research results to make it look like the team had actually produced stem cell lines through cloning human embryos.

Prosecutors have said the misuse of state funds carries a jail term of up to 10 years while a violation of the bioethics law can mean up to three years behind bars. No trial date had been set, Lee said later by telephone.

Hwang's research had raised hopes because it seemed to hasten the day when genetically specific tissue could be grown from embryonic stem cells to repair damaged organs or treat diseases such as Alzheimer's.

For full story: http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/05/12/skorea_charges_stem_cell_scientist_with_fraud_1147427066?mode=PF