Stem Cell Worries Send KOSDAQ Plunging

Fallout over the authenticity of stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk’s research sent stem cell stocks plummeting yesterday. The KOSDAQ lost more than 25 points.

The KOSDAQ Index closed at 716.38 on Friday, down 25.22 points, or 3.4 percent from the previous day.

At one point, the KOSDAQ was down nearly 36.08 points in morning trading. It rebounded six points after Hwang firmly declared, “There is no doubt that stem cells exist” at 2:00 p.m.

Major stem cell stocks, including Sansung P&C, Medipost, Macrogen, Easy Bio Systems, Innocell, Lifecord, and Choongang Biotech hit their all-time lows, and 36 out of 55 KOSDAQ-listed biotech companies fell to the bottom end of their price ranges.

Due to worsening investor sentiment, the KOSPI index also closed at 1,321.04, down 16.64 points, or 1.24 percent.

Wan-Bae Lee roryrery@donga.com