[Editorial] The Truth is the Answer to Questions About Cloning

Professor Hwang Woo Suk must not delay responding to ethical questions from University of Pittsburgh professor Gerald P. Schatten. Schatten is the authority on the cloning of primate embryos. Calling Hwang his "brother" he introduced him to the world academic community, and he is the main force behind having the World Stem Cell Hub built in Seoul. When Hwang tells reporters essentially that he will "tell all when the time is right" it has the potential to amplify the suspicion.

The issue being raised is simple. Hwang is accused of receiving the donation of a human egg from one of his own researchers while engaging in research into embryo stem cell extraction in 2004. The name of the researcher cited as the donor is known as well. There was a round of controversy last year, too, when there were similar accusations. The international bioengineering community prohibits the person in charge of the laboratory from accepting donations of eggs from researchers and students. The ethical standards go beyond whether or not the donor agrees or not, because it can still happen while being against the person's wishes. Bioengineering, and especially embryonic stem cell research, exists within sensitive ethics and social supervision. That is natural because it is believed to be related to the fabrication of human life.

Since successfully extracting cloned embryo stem cells Hwang has made landmark achievements such as growing stem cells tailored to patient needs and the birth of the dog named Snuppy. It has been welcome news for people suffering from incurable diseases. It will be a misfortune for them if Hwang is held back by a noose of suspicion. The best way to get out of the situation would the truth. The world remembers how a scholar of ethics at an American university, professor Hyeon In Su, who spent three months with Hwang starting last June, said that Hwang was being "even more careful than American scientists." The world believed what Hwang said when he pledged to devote the rest of his life to the needs of people with incurable diseases after returning from the threshold of hell.

The Hankyoreh, 15 November 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]