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“I feel miserable to discover that Hwang’s team really fabricated its papers,” the president said in a statement. “I offer sincere apologies for Hwang, who left an indelible stain on the Korean scientific community as well as the world scientific community.”

Chung promised stern punishment for all those involved in the fabrication, saying he had asked the school’s disciplinary committee to come up with punitive measures. He also announced plans to set up a research review committee in the university that will ensure the authenticity of research.

“I believe this incident offers an opportunity for the scientific community to develop self-purifying mechanisms, and that will at least be a valuable asset,” Chung said. “Our university will try to overcome the humiliation and frustration resulting from the incident and restore its proud tradition.”

Meanwhile, the government has decided to strip Hwang of his title as the country’s first “top scientist” and all other public titles. It will also ask the Board of Audit and Inspection to investigate Hwang’s use of state funding for his stem cell research. The police said it pulled off the special bodyguards it provided for Hwang.

(englishnews@chosun.com )