A professor at Sunchon National University has resigned from a prominent government position in South Korea after facing heavy criticism for being a co-author of a fraudulent stem cell paper.
Earlier this week, President Moon Jae-in appointed Park Ky-young to run a newly created Science, Technology and Innovation Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT. Critics quickly cried foul, noting that Park co-authored one of the stem cell papers by Woo-Suk Hwang, which made headlines 10 years ago after an investigation revealed the supposedly groundbreaking research had been fabricated.
According to the Korea Herald, Park’s position would have given her a say over the country’s R&D budget, worth 20 trillion won ($17 billion USD) in the science sector. The appointment does not require approval from parliament.
Today, Park agreed to step down. In a written statement, she said: