Scandal-ridden science official resigns

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Wed, August 23, 2017 | 11:07

Science

Scandal-ridden science official resigns

Posted : 2017-08-11 17:09

Updated : 2017-08-11 20:56

By Jung Min-ho

Park Ky-young, left, and Hwang Woo-suk in 2005 / Yonhap

A senior government official, who was mired in a major stem cell research fraud in 2005, has resigned amid massive criticism.

Park Ky-young, who was appointed to lead the Science, Technology and Innovation Office earlier this week by President Moon Jae-in, said she has decided to step down.

This comes after opposition from hundreds of scientists and politicians, who had urged President Moon to cancel the appointment saying she is neither qualified nor ethical enough for the post.

"I sincerely apologize to everyone for causing controversy," Park told reporters. "I hope the government will help many scientists realize their dreams through the institution, which has been born under difficult circumstances."

The biology professor at Sunchon National University served as a senior adviser to former President Roh Moo-hyun until 2006, when she resigned over a fraud scandal in which Hwang Woo-suk used fabricated data in his stem cell research paper.

Park played a key role in supporting Hwang with generous government subsidies during her two-year tenure in the post. She was also one of 15 co-authors of one of his scientific papers.

Before her resignation, 288 professors at Seoul National University said in a joint statement the appointment was an "insult to all scientists in Korea."

"She was either so greedy that she deliberately let Hwang lie about it or incapable of finding what's wrong," they said. "She must not take the post and be allowed to make decisions over how the country's R&D budget of 20 trillion won ($17.5 billion) should be allocated."

Park denied the accusations that she played a leading role in creating the fraudulent data, saying her fault was simply trusting Hwang too much.

Previously, she refused to step down. Speaking to reporters Thursday, she said she is deeply sorry for failing to catch his deception and wants to "pay back the country with my work."

mj6c2@ktimes.com