Roh Aide Caught in Stem Cell Scandal

By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

Park Ky-young, the presidential advisor for information, science and technology affairs, finds herself once again in jeopardy as it was disclosed she had received a report in January on the contamination of stem cell lines from Dr. Hwang Woo-suk, the country¡¯s cloning pioneer.

With controversy over the authenticity of the testimonies by related figures becoming amplified by the day, it is expected to be another hot issue how the presidential aide was involved in the development of this game of truth, and what role she has played in the course.

In a press conference on Friday, Hwang said that four of six stem cell colonies his research team created were infected with fungi on Jan. 9 and he quickly reported it to related government authorities.

Earlier in the day, however, the Ministry of Science and Technology said that it could not find the report that the veterinary professor claimed to have presented to the government on the contamination.

Chong Wa Dae belatedly confirmed the next day that it was Park who received the report. ``At that time, Prof. Hwang made the report orally,¡¯¡¯ Choi In-ho, deputy presidential spokesman, quoted her as saying.

``I myself visited the facility to map out preventive measures,¡¯¡¯ she was quoted as saying. ``I was very disappointed that the stem cells died even though contamination often happens in the course of cultivation.¡¯¡¯

Park is mentioned as Hwang¡¯s collaborator in his March 2004 paper carried in the U.S. journal Science for giving advice on life ethics. And this provided a source of accusation that she was a ``free rider¡¯¡¯ in Hwang¡¯s work as her specialty, botany, is not really related to stem cell research.

A stout supporter of Hwang, Park has acted as an official and unofficial mediator between the cloning father and the administration, especially as the direct bridge between Hwang and President Roh Moo-hyun, since she took the post of presidential advisor in 2003.

Her role, however, was first cast in doubt when MBC, the nation¡¯s major broadcaster, raised a suspicion last month on the veracity of Hwang¡¯s 2005 research paper on his tailor-made stem cells. A former key coworker claimed his work was a fake, which the professor flatly denied.

But, the MBC invited fierce criticism from irrational chauvinists of the nation as its staffers were later found to have violated ethics code and even threatened the news sources in the course of interviewing. Park seemed to have a narrowly escaped the jeopardy.

Park fell from grace once again last week, however, as the game of truth took a new twist with a fresh testimony, which proved that the MBC¡¯s accusations were not totally groundless. She was found to have received the report on the contamination from Hwang in January, but did not report to the president directly, according to the presidential office.

The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) demanded that Roh apologize for the mishap and sack his advisor, Park, and her superior in the presidential office, Director General for Policy Planning Kim Byung-joon, on Sunday.

Chong Wa Dae dismissed the opposition party¡¯s demands as ``reckless political offensives.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr