More on Korea

More on Korea

I’m getting kind of tired of reporting on politics instead of science, even though the two are linked in this field. Anyway….

Chosun Ilbo reports that the Korean ruling party is planning to fast-track legislation that would fund the Stem Cell Hub and make it a corporation separate from Seoul National University Hospital, with which it is currently affiliated. On the other hand, The Australian reported that Hugh Niall, chief executive officer of the Australian Stem Cell Center in Melbourne, and his colleagues would not meet with Hwang Woo-Suk next week at the AusBiotech conference in Perth.

At this point I think it’s a wait and see situation. With international support falling away and domestic support increasing, it seems that the World Stem Cell Hub may become the Korea Stem Cell Hub. I predict an increasing push for international regulation from Western governments. Asian nations such as India, Singapore, and Japan seem to have high stakes in stem cell research, and I would expect them to align with the West. I have no idea what will happen in Korea. Can the research go on without Hwang? Are the alleged ethical violations enough to ostracize all future research? Are we seeing a fundamental cultural divide? Does the South Korean ruling party represent the views of many Koreans? Stay tuned.