Former professor Hwang Woo-suk. Provided by Yonhap News
The authorities has revoked the “Republic of Korea Top Scientist and Engineer Award” that was conferred on former Seoul (*22*) University professor Hwang Woo-suk, who grew to become embroiled in controversy over fabrication of stem cell papers. The determination comes 22 years after he obtained the award.
According to main media studies on the fifteenth, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) just lately requested the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to cancel Hwang’s Republic of Korea Top Scientist and Engineer Award, and the Interior Ministry proceeded with the approval course of for presidential authorization and in the end finalized the cancellation.
The Republic of Korea Top Scientist and Engineer Award is a presidential award given to scientists and engineers who’ve made important contributions to the development of science and expertise in Korea. Hwang obtained the award and 300 million received in prize cash in 2004 for his achievements in human embryonic stem cell analysis, however it was later revealed that his stem cell papers had been fabricated.
Hwang was dismissed from Seoul (*22*) University in 2006, and the Ministry of Science and ICT revoked his standing because the No. 1 Top Scientist. At the time, there have been no rules in place relating to cancellation of the Top Scientist and Engineer Award, so the award itself was not withdrawn.
In 2020, 16 years after the award was given, the federal government canceled the Top Scientist and Engineer Award it had conferred on Hwang. However, Hwang filed an administrative lawsuit, arguing that the cancellation determination was illegal.
Both the first-instance and appellate courts accepted Hwang’s declare, ruling that there have been procedural violations within the authorities’s cancellation determination, together with failing to offer Hwang a chance to submit his opinion earlier than the disposition. The Supreme Court additionally upheld the decrease court docket’s ruling in April 2023.
According to Yonhap News, a authorities official defined that the Ministry of Science and ICT corrected the procedural defects identified within the earlier cancellation course of and then requested the Ministry of the Interior and Safety as soon as once more to revoke the award.
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