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In their first audible reaction to a scandal that has been rocking Korea for weeks, academics at cloning pioneer Prof. Hwang Woo-suk¡¯s own Seoul National University on Thursday urged verification of research results that have been at the center of controversy. The scandal was stirred up by MBC¡¯s ¡°PD Diary¡± current affairs show, which cited a team member as casting aspersions on stem cell research by Hwang¡¯s team.
Academics including staff of SNU¡¯s College of Biological Sciences were to meet with university president Chung Un-chan on Thursday to urge internal verification of results, but the plan was canceled due to excessive media attention.
SNU on Wednesday held a seminar on bioethics, where members of the university¡¯s bioethics committee delivered a message to Chung, saying SNU needs to form an ethics review board in the long term to make sure research meets international standards.
Chung on Thursday presided over a meeting of deans on Thursday afternoon to review calls for internal verification. There, a majority of participants called for prudence, and SNU decided not to issue any statement concerning Hwang at the university level.
After the meeting, Roe Jung-hye, the dean of SNU¡¯s Office of Research Affairs, said most deans had recommended caution. Many deans said the problems of science must be resolved by scientists, and warned of a hasty reaction given the inflammatory nature of Hwang¡¯s case. SNU would take full account of deans¡¯ opinions when deciding what to do next, Roe said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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