By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter




Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo-suk Wednesday said that he would resume his controversial cloning research with human stem cells for therapeutic purposes.

Hwang made the remarks yesterday before leaving for Philadelphia in the United States to participate in the annual symposium of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

``We will start to establish stem cells from cloned embryos again. We cannot put off our research any longer as tens of millions of people are suffering from degenerative diseases,’’ Hwang said.

Hwang’s research team stole the global show in February by successfully cloning a human embryo for the first time in the world.

But the 50-year-old scientist later announced he would tentatively stop cloning research with human eggs in the face of mounting ethical concerns.

``We now learn that Japan has decided to allow therapeutic cloning and Britain is also expected to follow suit, while the Chinese team is advancing with their research. We will also join the trend,’’ Hwang said.

Hwang added his team’s next cloning target would be the cells of women who are not reproductive because they are too young or too old and men.

``To apply cloning technologies for medical use, we need to succeed in our research with both men and women. Because we made it with women’s cells and eggs last time, it is time to go with men and non-reproductive women,’’ he said.

Genetic therapy based on cloning is expected to heal diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

Although Hwang is a firm believer in therapeutic cloning, he has repeatedly expressed his staunch opposition to human cloning for reproductive purposes and downplayed its feasibility due to technical limitations.

Hwang’s announcement that he would resume stem cell research came just days before a vote on a Costa Rica-sponsored bill which bans any form of human cloning. The United States and more than 60 other nations have vowed to pass the bill.

By contrast, Korea, Japan and many European countries seek an alternative bill that still prohibits reproductive cloning but allows stem cell research for use in therapy.

Observers expect the vote will be very close or may even be delayed for fear of polarizing the world. The bill was submitted for passage last year but the UN General Assembly put off the decision so it could be studied further.

voc200@koreatimes.co.kr