University Apologizes for Hwang

Seoul National University (SNU) released an official apology for the scandal involving professor Hwang Woo-suk, yesterday, just as the government decided to strip Hwang of the title of the country’s first top scientist and begin an investigation of its own.

In a letter addressed to the public, SNU President Chung Un-chan said, “I sincerely apologize to the public for the fact that Hwang’s research team left a blemish on the scientific community of Korea and the world by committing what it should never have done as scientists.”

Chung also said, “Based on our investigation results, SNU will firmly deal with this incident without wavering. The fabrication of papers is an academic criminal act that will not be tolerated.”

The university will reveal those who will be reprimanded and the details of its investigation procedures on January 13.

In a meeting for policy coordination of national agendas presided over by Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan in the prime minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, the government decided to strip Hwang of all his official titles, including his status as top scientist, and investigate if he spent government assistance money on anything else besides research purposes.

Holding official positions in at least 13 government-related organizations, including the National Science and Technology Council and the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation, Hwang has received a total of 28.964 billion won in research assistance from the government since 1998.

The Board of Audit and Inspection intends to conduct a separate inspection into all the suspicions raised over Hwang’s research.

The government and the ruling Uri Party held a consultation in the National Assembly that day and agreed that they can “conduct an inspection by the National Assembly, if necessary.”

The National Police Agency announced it would stop providing bodyguards for Hwang after the government decided to revoke his best scientist appointment.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development will also revise an interview with Hwang in a manual training and domestic science textbook for middle school freshmen, the introduction of Hwang’s team in a sociology textbook for high school freshmen, and his “success” story of nurturing embryonic stem cells printed in the introduction of a technical studies textbook for high school students.

The ministry is also planning to erase a chapter titled, “Challenging for a Nobel Prize” in a sociology textbook for elementary school seniors before distributing the textbook to schools.

The ministry is expected to publish data designed to emphasize honesty and trust regarding the Hwang scandal and supply to it schools in February.

Meanwhile, Lee Geon-haeng, Hwang’s lawyer, said, “Hwang will issue a public apology at 10:30 a.m. today at the Korea Press Center in Seoul.”