[13] Suspicion and controversy arose in late 2005, when Hwang's collaborator, Gerald Schatten at the University of Pittsburgh, came to know of the real source of oocytes (egg cells) used in the 2004 study.
Hwang was compelled to resign from the university,[15] and publicly confessed in January 2006 that the research papers were based on fabricated data.
[16] In 2009, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Hwang for embezzlement and bioethical violations, sentencing him to a two-year imprisonment.
[17] The incident was then recorded as the scandal that "shook the world of science,"[6] and became "one of the most widely reported and universally disappointing cases of scientific fraud in history".
[18] Hwang Woo-suk was a professor of veterinary biotechnology at the Seoul National University and specialised in stem cell research.
[13][21] 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.
[25] 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.
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.
[27] 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.
[24] Time reported that as a consequence of the achievement, "a medical and ethical door that had remained mostly closed was kicked wide open.
"[33] Hwang claimed that the purpose was for medical applications only, and said in Seattle, "Reproductive cloning is strictly prohibited [in South Korea].
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.
commenting: "Although individuals will differ in their opinions, a democracy can decide whether the benefits of embryonic stem cell research outweigh any disadvantages.
[3] 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.
[36] The government set up the World Stem Cell Hub at Seoul National University Hospital on 19 October 2005, created and directed by Hwang.