Korean broadcaster apologises over cloning allegations

A television programme alleging that South Korean cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-Suk fabricated breakthrough stem cell research will not be shown on Tuesday, after the broadcaster admitted breaking a journalistic code of ethics during its investigation.

The development is the latest in the unhappy saga surrounding the landmark work by Hwang's team. He resigned from his official posts on 24 November after apologising for using human eggs obtained by unethical means.

Until Sunday, the Seoul-based MBC television network had been promising to air even more damaging claims concerning the validity of Hwang's research. But it has issued a statement admitting that its reporters had violated journalistic ethics. A spokesman said the network had not decided whether the programme would be scrapped or aired at a later date.

In an earlier programme broadcast by MBC, it says some of Hwang's own researchers gave it information regarding the source of the human eggs used in the experiments. Some eggs had been paid for and others were obtained from junior members of the research team. International ethical standards frown on egg donations by researchers...