It is surprising that a bioscience professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) manipulated research data in his theses, published in renowned international journals. KAIST suspended Prof. Kim Tae-kook last week after its investigative committee found that he used bogus data in two papers. It also notified Science and Nature Chemicalbiology ― the publishers of his work ― of the fabrication.
It is a shame that a Korean scientist has again been implicated in such an unethical act, after stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-suk shocked the world two years ago when his landmark research was found to have been based on cooked data. Prof. Kim's second paper was published in Nature Chemicalbiology five months after a Seoul National University fact-finding team concluded in January 2006 that Hwang had falsified data.
How come the professor of the nation's top engineering school announced false research even after the Hwang case sent a shockwave not only throughout the country but also across the globe? He must have given up his scholastic conscience and research ethics only to show off his manipulation skills. It is a pity that he dug his own grave for his achievement-oriented mindset. He should have realized that research ethics are more important than papers covered with made-up material.
It is disturbing that Kim cheated the science world with his ``novel'' research. He earned much publicity from his 2006 paper that suggested ideas for increasing the human lifespan by reprogramming cells. Even then-President Roh Moo-hyun invited Kim to the presidential office in Seoul. And KAIST President Suh Nam-pyo praised him as one of the most likely Korean candidates for the Nobel Prize. How could Kim dupe Roh, Suh and so many others?
One of Kim's students first doubted the credibility of his professor's research. He reported the case to school authorities after he failed to replicate some of the experiments Kim presented in his paper. The investigative panel obtained strong evidence that the data fabrication was deliberately made under Kim's supervision. Kim once said in an article contributed to a local daily that his research could open the way for the treatment of intractable diseases such as senile dementia.
Data fabrication tarnishes the image of Korea as an emerging powerhouse of science and technology. It also damages the reputation of local scientists. The nation has yet to learn a valuable lesson from the Hwang and Kim cases. It is imperative for universities and research institutes to establish firm verification systems for their research projects in a bid to prevent the recurrence of data manipulation.