By now, most of you are probably familiar with the Hwang Woo Suk carnival of controversy. For those of you who are unfamiliar, allow me to summarize. Hwang, a Korean scientist, had claimed that he had been able to successfully clone 11 lines of stem cells in his experiment. Not only that, but he claimed that his research held the key to cures to such ailments as disparate as spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s diseases, severe burns, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, Huntington’s Disease, and arthritis. The med-tech world was stunned. Stem cell supporters believed this to be a vindication, and proclaimed Hwang a hero. Unfortunately, it was entirely bogus. Seoul National University (SNU), under whom Hwang was doing his research, began an investigation, and discrepencies were revealed. Originally claiming that only some of the research was faked, Hwang was eventually forced to admit the whole thing was basically a fraud. Hwang has since resigned from SNU.
Now, one might think that hoodwinking your colleagues and disgracing your homeland might rightfully earn Hwang the cold shoulder from his fellow Koreans, and in a few cases, it is. But surprisingly, there is national movement in Korea to spare Hwang from disgrace and, even odder still, continue to hail him as a national hero. Young and naïve idealists, the media, and even the Korean government are all under fire for looking the other way as Hwang continued his hoax. For the most definitive dissertation on this national case of denial, check out Oranckay’s blog.
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