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SEOUL - Hwang Woo-Suk, 52, once said he would like to be remembered as a scientist who helped find cures for the incurable.
Hwang, born to poor farmers during the misery of the Korean War, embarked on a career in embryonic stem cell research to further that ambition in a field that opened up new medical horizons.
His ground-breaking work produced the first cloned human embryo that produced stem cells in February 2004.
Then Hwang and his team announced they had made another breakthrough by developing the first lines of patient-specific embryonic stem cells, designed to give a precise DNA match for patients.
In August, Hwang was pictured romping with his latest creation Snuppy, the world's first cloned dog.
"He never stopped working," said a friend.
Hwang said the production of patient-specific cloned stem cells -- which he claimed to have achieved in a June research paper -- was the half-way point towards the goal of reversing degenerative disease or fixing damaged spinal nerves, retinas and other tissues.
But former colleagues and co-authors allege that Hwang faked key parts of that research. He is now under investigation by his own university and peers in the United States, while biomedical experts all over the world regard him with suspicion.
"It is a great pity. He is so warm, generous and kind and dedicated," said the friend, who has acted as adviser to the shy scientist since he rocketed to fame with one landmark discovery after another in recent years.
But the poor boy from the sticks was also ambitious and driven by a hunger for recognition and applause, especially for his country.
"When many people from around the world came over and cheered for what I had shown them, I felt a glow of national pride that South Korea will be able to make it," Hwang said last month.
He is accused of pushing too hard with his no-weekend, little-sleep work ethic and of being ruled too much by ambition that made him cut corners.
In October, Hwang was appointed head of a new research hub in Seoul, the World Stem Cell Hub, designed to supply stem cell lines to research teams worldwide.
The stem cell hub, it was proclaimed, would serve as the heart of global efforts to develop replacement medicine for the 21st century.
However, Hwang resigned from all official posts on November 24 when he admitted ethical problems that have clouded his research for months.
He admitted that to cure the incurable, his team took ethical risks and bought some eggs while taking others from junior members of the team, a practice that goes against widely accepted ethical standards.
Though he denies fabricating research, Hwang's reputation is in tatters already, according to some experts.
Born in a small farming village in Buyeo in central South Korea on December 15, 1952, Hwang loved to work with oxen and other farm animals. His love for animals convinced him that he wanted to be a vet.
Hwang studied veterinary medicine at Seoul National University in the late 1970s and earned a doctorate in animal reproduction in 1982.
Soon afterwards, he began earning a reputation for pursuing an interest in cloning. He started developing methods for cloning animals -- including a cloned cow "Yeongryeong" in 1999.
In 2002, he finally decided to focus his talents on the field of human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. He won praise for what many considered his ethical stand against cloning humans.
"My work has never been intended to go that way. I'm totally against it," Hwang told a local science journal recently.
He wanted to focus on "therapeutic" purposes -- helping people when traditional medical science could not. "I do my work as a scientist to cure the incurables," Hwang told the science journal. - AFP/ir
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