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The presidential advisor for science and technology Park Ky-young admitted Tuesday to a conflict of interest arising from W250 million (US$250,000) in research grants she received from the disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk. Hwangîs motives have come under suspicion because although Park received the money when she was still a botanist at Sunchon National University in South Jeolla Province and before taking the Cheong Wa Dae post in 2004, she already had the presidentîs ear at the time. She insists the funding was spent in a transparent manner.
"I accepted W150 million from Hwang, who was in charge of producing a BSE-resistant cow in December 2001, when I was working as a botany professor at Sunchon National University, to carry out research projectsñ on social implications and research ethics, she said.
She said Hwang gave her another W100 million in June 2003, asking her to study the ethical and industrial impact of bio-organs, as part of a project on producing bio-organs by using transgenic cloning technology and developing transplant technology. Park was appointed presidential aide the following year.
The official...
