Aide resigns in South Korean stem cell research scandal

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is expected to accept the resignation of an aide over the scandal surrounding disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk.

Park Ky-young, Roh’s aide for science and technology affairs, has offered to step down after a university report found that Hwang’s breakthrough research into human stem cell cloning was faked.

Park will be the first South Korean government official to resign over the scandal.

“The president is expected to accept the resignation,” Roh’s chief spokesman Kim Man-soo was quoted as saying.

Park, 48, a former biology professor, was one of the co-authors of Hwang’s 2004 paper where he claimed to create the world’s first cloned human embryo and cull stem cells from it.

The breakthrough has since been found to have been faked, along with his 2005 claim of creating the world’s first patient-specific stem cells that can grow into any bodily tissues.

Park has been plagued by revelations that she received research funds from Hwang when she was a professor. She acknowledged accepting cash from Hwang, but claimed the money was purely for research purposes.