[Editorial] Stem Research Questions Need Further Verification

The MBC program "PD Sucheop" has been bringing up new allegations about professor Hwang Woo Suk's research. First it made allegations about the origins of some of the eggs used in the research. Now it is asking questions about the research's authenticity. A member of the PD Sucheop production team says the program will describe its effort to figure out whether some of the results of Hwang's research into "patient-tailored" embryonic stem cells were fabricated. The accusation is that data may have been falsified, so it becomes a whole different matter. It is truly unfortunate that leading research is the subject of such distrust and suspicion. And it is distressing that it seems like an emotional confrontation between the program's staff and Hwang's team of researchers is making the suspicions worse.

The program has been under intense criticism from netizens and other media, and with even president Roh Moo Hyun taking issue with how it went about covering the story it probably wants to prove that its story is legitimate. But there is something producers need to remember. The purpose of covering the story in the first place is uncovering the truth about the allegations that have been made. Detailing how you covered the story, in a way that could intensify the suspicions when the truth has not been ascertained, and to do so just because you feel wrongly accused, is not the right way to handle the matter at hand.

The state has an important role to play at this point. PD Sucheop is asking that there be verification of the authenticity of the research by examining the genetic data. That would be the second verification process. Researchers cannot be accommodating just because the media demands verification, all the more so in the case of a state-funded project that needs its secrets protected. Other domestic and international media or organizations could always demand verification all sorts of details. However, this issue has become one of international interest, and the issue cannot be avoided so easily. The State Life Ethics Commission needs to make sense of the matter. Aside from its inquiry into the ethics violations, An objective and widely-trusted third organization needs to be chosen to verify the DNA of the somatic and stem cells.

The Hankyoreh, 2 December 2005.