Editorial: Hwang's 'Guardian Angel' Owes Us an Explanation
By Chosun Ilbo,
Chosun Ilbo
| 01. 18. 2006
The presidential advisor for science and technology Park Ky-young received research grants of W150 million (US$150,000) and W100 million in 2001 and 2003 for studies on the ethics and social impact of bio-engineering from the disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk. The 2001 research focused on the social impact of creating BSE-resistant cows, and the 2003 work on ethical guidelines and commercial use of bio-organs.
For a start, was the presidential aide, a botanist by training, charged with ethics research because the country is short on specialists in the field? More than 50 are listed as members of the Korean Bioethics Association. To say that her participation in some bioengineering forums as a representative of civic groups qualifies her for the research grants is stretching it.
A botany professor at Sunchon National University, Park joined the camp of President Roh Moo-hyun during the 2002 presidential election. In February 2003, she was a member of Roh's transition team assigned to an economics subcommittee. In June 2003, Park chaired the Future Strategy Subcommittee under the Policy Planning Committee, a presidential advisory body. In...
Related Articles
By Meagan Parrish, PharmaVoice | 10.10.2025
When CEO Ben Lamm steps into the spotlight, it’s usually to talk about his efforts bringing extinct animals back to life. Once a far-flung idea, Lamm and the company he heads, Colossal Biosciences, have proven they can pull it off...
By Aleks Krotoski, The Guardian | 09.28.2025
Imagine you’re the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world. You have everything you could want at your disposal: power, influence, money. But, the problem is, your time at the top is fleeting. I’m not...
GeneWatch UK has prepared a briefing on the genetic modification of nature for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress in October 2025
The upcoming Congress claims to be “where the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action.” A major concern for those on the outside is that the Congress may advance plans to develop and encourage the use of synthetic biology in nature conservation. This could at first glance sound like...
By Peter de Kruijff, ABC News | 09.16.2025
Do you wonder where your meat comes from? Maybe it is organic, wild harvested, or farmed.
Or perhaps it was designed in a lab.
Faster-growing fish, heat-tolerant cows and disease-resistant pigs are among a new class of animals that are...