Hwang affair

Hwang Woo-suk was a professor of veterinary biotechnology at the Seoul National University and specialised in stem cell research. In 1993, he devised an in vitro fertilisation method with which he made the first assisted reproduction in cows.{{Cite journal |last=Cyranoski |first=David |date=2006 |title=Who's who: A quick guide to the people behind the Woo Suk Hwang story |url=http://www.nature.com/articles/news060109-9 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=Online |pages=news060109–9 |doi=10.1038/news060109-9 |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }} He rose to public notice in 1999 when he announced that he had successfully cloned a dairy cow, named Yeongrong-i, and a few months later, a Korean cow, Jin-i (also reported as Yin-i). The following year, he announced the preparation for cloning an endangered Siberian tiger. It was a failed attempt, but the announcements received widespread media attention in South Korea and contributed to increased public interest in his work. In 2002, he claimed creation of a genetically modified pig that could be used for human organ transplant. In 2003, he announced the successful cloning of a BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy)-resistant cow.{{Cite news |date=2003-12-18 |title=Cattle clones resist BSE, claim Koreans |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2003/dec/18/research.highereducation |access-date=2023-05-01 |issn=0261-3077}} However, science sceptics raised concern over the absence of research papers for any of his claims.

In 2004, Hwang announced the first complete cloning of a human embryo.{{Cite news |last=Dreifus |first=Claudia |date=2004-02-17 |title=A CONVERSATION WITH/Woo Suk Hwang and Shin Yong Moon; 2 Friends, 242 Eggs and a Breakthrough |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/science/conversation-with-woo-suk-hwang-shin-yong-moon-2-friends-242-eggs-breakthrough.html |access-date=2023-05-01 |issn=0362-4331}} The research, published in the 12 March 2004 issue of Science, was reported as "Evidence of a pluripotent human embryonic stem cell line derived from a cloned blastocyst."{{Cite journal |last1=Hwang |first1=Woo Suk |last2=Ryu |first2=Young June |last3=Park |first3=Jong Hyuk |last4=Park |first4=Eul Soon |last5=Lee |first5=Eu Gene |last6=Koo |first6=Ja Min |last7=Jeon |first7=Hyun Yong |last8=Lee |first8=Byeong Chun |last9=Kang |first9=Sung Keun |last10=Kim |first10=Sun Jong |last11=Ahn |first11=Curie |last12=Hwang |first12=Jung Hye |last13=Park |first13=Ky Young |last14=Cibelli |first14=Jose B. |last15=Moon |first15=Shin Yong |date=2004 |title=Evidence of a pluripotent human embryonic stem cell line derived from a cloned blastocyst |journal=Science |volume=303 |issue=5664 |pages=1669–1674 |doi=10.1126/science.1094515 |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=14963337 |bibcode=2004Sci...303.1669H |doi-access=free}}{{Retracted|doi=10.1126/science.1124926|pmid=16410485|http://retractionwatch.com/?s=woo+suk+hwang Retraction Watch|http://retractionwatch.com/2010/11/18/what-were-you-thinking-do-not-manipulate-those-data/ Retraction Watch|intentional=yes}} For its potential medical value to replace diseased and damaged cells, several scientists had previously tried to clone the human embryo, but none had succeeded.{{Cite journal |last=Pilcher |first=Helen R. |date=2004-02-12 |title=Cloned human embryos yield stem cells |url=http://www.nature.com/articles/news040209-12 |journal=Nature |language=en |pages=news040209–12 |doi=10.1038/news040209-12 |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }} Hwang's team had developed an improved method of somatic cell nuclear transfer, in which they could transfer the nuclei of somatic (non-reproductive) cells into egg cells that had their nuclei removed.{{Cite journal |last=Pearson |first=Helen |date=2004 |title=Cloning success marks Asian nations as scientific tigers |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=427 |issue=6976 |pages=664 |doi=10.1038/427664b |pmid=14973443 |s2cid=4354771 |issn=0028-0836|doi-access=free |bibcode=2004Natur.427..664P }} They used human egg cells and cumulus cells, which are found in ovaries near the developing eggs and are known to be good source of nuclear transfer. After emptying an egg of its nucleus, they transferred the nucleus of the cumulus cell into it. The new egg cell divided normally and grew into a blastocyst, an early embryo characterised by a hollow ball of cells. They isolated the outer trophoblast cells that are destined to become the placenta, discarding the inner cell mass that would form the placenta. When the trophoblast cells were cultured, they could divide and form different tissues, indicating that they were viable stem cells.{{Cite journal |last=Vogel |first=Gretchen |date=2004-02-13 |title=Human cloning. Scientists take step toward therapeutic cloning |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14963293 |journal=Science |volume=303 |issue=5660 |pages=937–939 |doi=10.1126/science.303.5660.937 |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=14963293|s2cid=83934241 }} The report concluded: "This study shows the feasibility of generating human ES [embryonic stem] cells from a somatic cell isolated from a living person." It was the first instance of cloning of adult human cells and human embryonic stem cells.

Hwang publicly reported the research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Seattle on 16 February 2004. He specified that they used 242 eggs from 16 unpaid volunteers, creating about 100 cells from which 30 embryos were developed.{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Sarah |date=2004 |title=Cloned Human Embryos Yield Stem Cells |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cloned-human-embryos-yiel/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=Scientific American |language=en}} Since the embryos had adult DNA, the resulting stem cells became clones of the adult somatic cells. From the embryos, the stem cells were collected and grafted into mice in which they could grow into various body parts including muscle, bone, cartilage and connective tissues. The method ensured that immune rejection would be avoided so that it could be used for the treatment of genetic disorders. As Hwang explained: "Our approach opens the door for the use of these specially developed cells in transplantation medicine."

Hwang's team reported another successful cloning of human cells in the 17 June 2005 issue of Science, in this case, embryonic stem cells derived from skin cells.{{Cite journal |last1=Hwang |first1=Woo Suk |last2=Roh |first2=Sung Il |last3=Lee |first3=Byeong Chun |last4=Kang |first4=Sung Keun |last5=Kwon |first5=Dae Kee |last6=Kim |first6=Sue |last7=Kim |first7=Sun Jong |last8=Park |first8=Sun Woo |last9=Kwon |first9=Hee Sun |last10=Lee |first10=Chang Kyu |last11=Lee |first11=Jung Bok |last12=Kim |first12=Jin Mee |last13=Ahn |first13=Curie |last14=Paek |first14=Sun Ha |last15=Chang |first15=Sang Sik |date=2005-06-17 |title=Patient-Specific Embryonic Stem Cells Derived from Human SCNT Blastocysts |journal=Science |language=en |volume=308 |issue=5729 |pages=1777–1783 |doi=10.1126/science.1112286 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=15905366|bibcode=2005Sci...308.1777H |s2cid=86634281 |doi-access=free }}{{Retracted|doi=10.1126/science.1124926|pmid=16410485|http://retractionwatch.com/?s=woo+suk+hwang Retraction Watch|intentional=yes}} Their study claimed the creation of 11 different stem cell lines that were the exact match of DNA in people having a variety of diseases. The experiment used 185 eggs from 18 donors.{{Cite web |last=Kirk |first=Jeremy |date=2005-05-29 |title=The scientist behind stem cell success story / South Korean's lab announced major breakthrough this month |url=https://www.sfgate.com/health/article/The-scientist-behind-stem-cell-success-story-2631441.php |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}} The report explicitly stated that: "Patients voluntarily donated oocytes and somatic cells for therapeutic cloning research and relevant applications but not for reproductive cloning ... no financial reimbursement in any form was paid."

When the 2004 research was announced, it was received with praise and admiration. Donald Kennedy, editor-in-chief of Science, remarked: "the generation of stem cells by somatic cell nuclear transfer methods involving the same individuals may hold promise for advances in transplantation technology that could help people affected by many devastating conditions." Michael S. Gazzaniga, neuroscientist and bioethicist at Dartmouth College, who had supported therapeutic cloning, described it as "a major advance in biomedical cloning".{{Cite journal |last=Gazzaniga |first=Michael S. |date=2004 |title=Human being redux |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15087527 |journal=Science |volume=304 |issue=5669 |pages=388–389 |doi=10.1126/science.304.5669.388c |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=15087527|s2cid=41038049 }} Some American scientists took the news to criticise the US government, arguing that it had weakness in stem cell research and a prohibitive attitude.{{Cite web |last=Paulson |first=Tom |date=2004-02-13 |title=U.S. scientists fear losing out on cloning |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/U-S-scientists-fear-losing-out-on-cloning-1136948.php |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |language=en}} As Helen Pearson reported in Nature, the cloning accomplishment turned Asians into "scientific tigers".

Time reported that as a consequence of the achievement, "a medical and ethical door that had remained mostly closed was kicked wide open."{{Cite magazine |last=Kluger |first=Jeffrey |date=2004-04-26 |title=Woo Suk Hwang & Shin Yong Moon |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,994031,00.html |access-date=2023-05-01 |issn=0040-781X}} Hwang and his colleague Shin Yong Moon were listed by Time at number 84 in its list of most influential people "The 2004 Time 100" in April 2004.

The critical issue was on bioethics, as the method ultimately wasted many human embryos{{Cite journal |last1=Landry |first1=Donald W. |last2=Zucker |first2=Howard A. |date=2004 |title=Embryonic death and the creation of human embryonic stem cells |journal=The Journal of Clinical Investigation |volume=114 |issue=9 |pages=1184–1186 |doi=10.1172/JCI23065 |issn=0021-9738 |pmc=524233 |pmid=15520846}} and could be used to create full human clones, as John T. Durkin argued in Science: "the developmental events leading from fertilised ovum, to blastula, to embryo, to fetus, to fully formed adult constitute a continuum."{{Cite journal |last=Durkin |first=John T. |date=2004-09-03 |title=The Case Against Stem Cell Research |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.305.5689.1402a |journal=Science |language=en |volume=305 |issue=5689 |pages=1402 |doi=10.1126/science.305.5689.1402a |pmid=15353781 |s2cid=8641776 |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }} Hwang claimed that the purpose was for medical applications only, and said in Seattle, "Reproductive cloning is strictly prohibited [in South Korea]." At the time, South Korea was developing its "Bioethics and Biosafety Act" to be enforced in 2005. The regulations proscribed human reproductive cloning and experimental fusion of human and animal embryos; even therapeutic cloning for diseases would require authorised approval. Based on this situation, Sang-yong Song of the Hanyang University, criticised Hwang for not waiting for the forthcoming regulations and social consensus in Korea.{{Cite journal |last=Song |first=Sang-yong |date=2004 |title=Stem cell research in Korea |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15310877 |journal=Science |volume=305 |issue=5686 |pages=944–945; author reply 944–945 |doi=10.1126/science.305.5686.944 |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=15310877|s2cid=37571392 }} Howard H. Kendler, psychologist at the University of California, had an unbiased viewpoint,{{Fact or opinion|date=February 2025}} commenting: "Although individuals will differ in their opinions, a democracy can decide whether the benefits of embryonic stem cell research outweigh any disadvantages. Science can assist in making this decision, but cannot dictate it."{{Cite journal |last=Kendler |first=Howard H. |date=2004-11-19 |title=Assisting, but not dictating |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15550642 |journal=Science |volume=306 |issue=5700 |pages=1289 |doi=10.1126/science.306.5700.1289b |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=15550642|s2cid=5148760 }}

Hwang attempted to establish a network of bureaucrats. To name his second cloned cow, he solicited President Kim Dae-jung, who named it after a celebrated Korean geisha "Hwang Jini." As he announced the cloning of a BSE-resistant cow in 2003, President Roh Moo-hyun visited his laboratory and was shown a dog healed from its injury using stem cell transfer, to which the president applauded, "this is not a science; this is a magic." From that point, Hwang received escalated research funding from the government that peaked in 2005 at around US$30 million. That year, the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology officially honoured him as "Supreme Scientist" for the first time in Korea; the title carried US$15 million.{{Cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Manjae |last2=Jun |first2=Bang-Ook |date=2015 |title=Hwang Woo-Suk Scandal Reconstructed Based on Mass Mobilization |url=https://www.eubios.info/EJAIB32015.pdf |journal=Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=34–37 |via=PhilPapers}} He was frequently portrayed in Korean media as “the pride of Korea,” and appeared on numerous TV programs and newspaper covers as the face of national scientific achievement.Kim, T.-H. (2008). How could a scientist become a national celebrity? *East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal*, 2(1), 30–31. https://doi.org/10.1215/s12280-008-9029-6 The government set up the World Stem Cell Hub at Seoul National University Hospital on 19 October 2005, created and directed by Hwang.{{Cite journal |date=2005-10-21 |title=South Korea Rolls Out Stem Cell Hub |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.310.5747.419b |journal=Science |language=en |volume=310 |issue=5747 |pages=419 |doi=10.1126/science.310.5747.419b |s2cid=84225806 |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite web |date=20 October 2005 |title=World stem cell hub launched in Seoul |url=https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/24639-world-stem-cell-hub-launched-in-seoul |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=cordis.europa.eu}} On the day of opening, {{val|3000}} people registered for stem cell therapy.

In the 2004 report, Hwang's team remarked that "we cannot completely exclude the possibility that the cells had a parthenogenetic origin." Reference to parthenogenesis, the ability of embryo development from egg cells without fertilisation, was relevant because it had been documented that stem cells are capable of such transformation. In 1984, an experiment demonstrated that a genetic mixture (chimera) of nuclei from the stem cells, one-cell-stage embryos of mouse could develop into full embryos.{{Cite journal |last1=McGrath |first1=J. |last2=Solter |first2=D. |date=1984 |title=Completion of mouse embryogenesis requires both the maternal and paternal genomes |journal=Cell |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=179–183 |doi=10.1016/0092-8674(84)90313-1 |issn=0092-8674 |pmid=6722870|s2cid=26447702 |doi-access=free }} Researchers at the Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) in Worcester, Massachusetts, further showed in 2002 that primate (in this case crab-eating macaque, Macaca fascicularis) stem cells grew into the blastocyst stage.{{Cite journal |last1=Cibelli |first1=Jose B. |last2=Grant |first2=Kathleen A. |last3=Chapman |first3=Karen B. |last4=Cunniff |first4=Kerrianne |last5=Worst |first5=Travis |last6=Green |first6=Heather L. |last7=Walker |first7=Stephen J. |last8=Gutin |first8=Philip H. |last9=Vilner |first9=Lucy |last10=Tabar |first10=Viviane |last11=Dominko |first11=Tanja |last12=Kane |first12=Jeff |last13=Wettstein |first13=Peter J. |last14=Lanza |first14=Robert P. |last15=Studer |first15=Lorenz |date=2002 |title=Parthenogenetic stem cells in nonhuman primates |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1065637 |journal=Science |volume=295 |issue=5556 |pages=819 |doi=10.1126/science.1065637 |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=11823632|s2cid=46414300 |url-access=subscription }} The ACT subsequently announced that they had created the human parthenogenetic cells, although the cells could not reach the blastocyst stage.{{Cite journal |last=Holden |first=Constance |date=2002 |title=Stem cell research. Primate parthenotes yield stem cells |url=https://doi.org/10.1126/science.295.5556.779a |journal=Science |volume=295 |issue=5556 |pages=779–780 |doi=10.1126/science.295.5556.779a |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=11823611|s2cid=82265912 |url-access=subscription }} In 2003, Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh and his team reported a failed attempt of stem cell cloning in rhesus monkey, as the cell divisions were erratic and produced abnormal chromosomes.{{Cite journal |last1=Simerly |first1=Calvin |last2=Dominko |first2=Tanja |last3=Navara |first3=Christopher |last4=Payne |first4=Christopher |last5=Capuano |first5=Saverio |last6=Gosman |first6=Gabriella |last7=Chong |first7=Kowit-Yu |last8=Takahashi |first8=Diana |last9=Chace |first9=Crista |last10=Compton |first10=Duane |last11=Hewitson |first11=Laura |last12=Schatten |first12=Gerald |date=2003 |title=Molecular correlates of primate nuclear transfer failures |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1082091 |journal=Science |volume=300 |issue=5617 |pages=297 |doi=10.1126/science.1082091 |issn=1095-9203 |pmid=12690191|s2cid=19363117 |url-access=subscription }} Schatten declared: "This reinforces the fact that the charlatans who claim to have cloned humans have never understood enough cell or developmental biology."{{Cite journal |last=Vogel |first=Gretchen |date=2003 |title=Misguided Chromosomes Foil Primate Cloning |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.300.5617.225 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=300 |issue=5617 |pages=225–227 |doi=10.1126/science.300.5617.225 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=12690154|s2cid=86255567 |url-access=subscription }}

The Hwang scandal was widely described as “a scandal that shook the world of science,” exposing systemic weaknesses in the regulation of research integrity.Hong, S. (2008). The Hwang Scandal That “Shook the World of Science”. East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal, 2(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1215/s12280-008-9041-x

In response, South Korea implemented a series of research ethics reforms across universities, government agencies, and academic associations. These included stricter institutional review board (IRB) procedures and national guidelines for ethical research practices.Kim, J., & Park, K. (2013). Ethical modernization: Research misconduct and research ethics reforms in Korea following the Hwang affair. Science and Engineering Ethics, 19(2), 355–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-011-9341-8

Although public opinion initially remained sympathetic, most Koreans quickly withdrew their support after Hwang’s admission of misconduct. Online communities supporting him dissolved rapidly, reflecting a collective reassessment of scientific credibility and trust.Kim, T.-H. (2008). How could a scientist become a national celebrity? East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal, 2(1), 27–45. https://doi.org/10.1215/s12280-008-9029-6

In June 2023, Netflix released the documentary film King of Clones, which covered Hwang Woo-suk and this affair.

• He Jiankui affair

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