Researcher Fired Over Cell Fiasco

SEOUL _ The scientist who stunned the medical world with claims that he had created the first cloned human embryos and extracted stem cells from them _ research later found to have been faked _ was fired Monday by South Korea's most prestigious university.

Seoul National University decided to dismiss Hwang Woo-suk after a disciplinary meeting, saying he and his co-workers caused the school to lose honor. Six other professors who worked with Hwang were either suspended or had their salaries cut, the school said.
Last month, the school suspended Hwang, 53, from teaching and conducting research as an interim disciplinary measure, but he had remained a professor.

"The professors fundamentally abandoned honesty and sincerity _ and caused the fall in the school's honor and the country's international confidence," the university said in a statement Monday.

Byun Chang-ku, dean of the school's academic affairs, said the committee had decided to fire Hwang because he "took overall responsibility as the lead author and played a leading role in writing the papers with fake facts and data."

Hwang rarely appears in public...