Skip to main content

Ethical Modernization: Research Misconduct and Research Ethics Reforms in Korea Following the Hwang Affair

Science and Engineering Ethics volume 19, pages 355–380 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

The Hwang affair, a dramatic and far reaching instance of scientific fraud, shocked the world. This collective national failure prompted various organizations in Korea, including universities, regulatory agencies, and research associations, to engage in self-criticism and research ethics reforms. This paper aims, first, to document and review research misconduct perpetrated by Hwang and members of his research team, with particular attention to the agencies that failed to regulate and then supervise Hwang’s research. The paper then examines the research ethics reforms introduced in the wake of this international scandal. After reviewing American and European research governance structures and policies, policy makers developed a mixed model mindful of its Korean context. The third part of the paper examines how research ethics reform is proactive (a response to shocking scientific misconduct and ensuing external criticism from the press and society) as well as reactive (identification of and adherence to national or international ethics standards). The last part deals with Korean society’s response to the Hwang affair, which had the effect of a moral atomic bomb and has led to broad ethical reform in Korean society. We conceptualize this change as ethical modernization, through which the Korean public corrects the failures of a growth-oriented economic model for social progress, and attempts to create a more trustworthy and ethical society.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Notes

  1. We interviewed two whistle-blowers (former researchers in Hwang’s lab), Hak-Soo Han (Producer of PD Notebook who debunked the Hwang’s scientific misconducts in a national television program in Korea), Byung-Soo Kim (activist who protected two whistle-blowers and helped Producer Han to battle against Hwang’s ally), Jae-Kak Han (policy maker who ardently opposed Hwang’s research before the affair), Yang-Koo Kang (journalist who also revealed Hwang’s research misconducts during the affair) and Mr. M (activist who organized anti-Hwang protesters). All interviews are recorded and transcribed in verbatim.

  2. Korea’s prosecutor office attempted to investigate Schatten in a face-to-face setting, as they did with all Korean witnesses and suspects. But because Schatten resides in Pittsburgh in the US, the office did not have legal authority to bring him to Korea. Instead, the prosecutor sent him a questionnaire on his role in Hwang’s research, and Schatten denied his involvement in Hwang’s fraud.

  3. We cannot define the Korean system as a hybrid of US and European models, because Europe has various models of research ethics. It is safer to say that Korean policy makers and research ethics professionals pulled good models of various types of research ethics governance and combined them to fit the Korean context.

References

  • Ban, H. (2006). The Hwang affair and television news. In: Y. Won & K. Chun (Eds.), The fall of myth, ghost of national interest: Woo Suk Hwang, PD notebook, and Korean journalism (pp. 151–210). Seoul: Hanarae. (in Korean).

  • Beck, U. (1992). Risk society: Toward a new modernity. London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, U., Giddens, A., & Lash, S. (1994). Reflexive modernization. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brauman, J. (2006). Science’s response to the committee report on Hwang et al., Science 2004 and 2005. Supporting online material for “Responding to fraud.” doi:10.1126/science.1137840.

  • Chekar, C., & Kitzinger, J. (2007). Science, patriotism, and discourses of nation and culture: reflections on the South Korean stem cell breakthroughs and scandals. New Genetics and Society, 26, 289–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho, M., McGee, G., & Magnus, D. (2006). Lessons of the stem cell scandal. Science, 311, 614–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, J. (2005). Democracy after democratization. Seoul: Humanitas. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi, H., & Shin, J. (2007). Research misconduct and research norms. Philosophy of Science, 10, 103–126. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Chong, S. (2006). Investigations document still more problems for stem cell researchers. Science, 311, 754–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chong, S., & Normile, D. (2006). How young Korean researchers helped unearth a scandal. Science, 311, 22–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chun, K. (2006). Failures to protect public interest and democratic journalism’s responsibility: The limitations of Korean journalism in the Hwang affair. In: S. Kim, K. Choi & S. Hong (Eds.), The Hwang affair and Korean society (pp. 151–180). Seoul: Nanam Publications. (in Korean).

  • Cornwell, J. (2003). Hitler’s scientists: Science, war and the devil’s pact. New York: Viking.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donga Daily. (2006). Byongjun Kim, the Minister of education and human resource development, resigned. August 3, 2006.

  • Donga Daily. (2007). Sungyon Kim, the CEO of Hanhwa Group, is arrested and jailed. May 12, 2007 (in Korean).

  • Donga Daily. (2007). Soojong Choi, a top actor, also faked his university degree. August 22, 2007 (in Korean).

  • Donga Science. (2004). Hwang Woo Suk says “We have placed a Korean flag at the summit of global bioengineering research.” February 19, 2004 (in Korean). http://news.dongascience.com/HTML/News/2004/02/19/20040219200000000001.

  • Economy Daily. (2007). Jungah Shin’s degrees are all fabricated. July 12, 2007. (in Korean) http://news.mk.co.kr/outside/view.php?year=2007&no=366214.

  • Economy Today. (2007). Twister of diploma fabrication reveals ugliness at the bottom. December 22, 2007. (in Korean). http://www.eto.co.kr/?Code=20071222112152310&ts=124949.

  • Editorial. (2008). Fabrication and plagiarism of papers cannot reach world-class universities. March 2, 2008. Donga Daily. (in Korean) http://news.donga.com/fbin/output?n=200803020119.

  • Ehrenfreund, N. (2007). The Nuremberg legacy: How the Nazi war crimes trials changed the course of history. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenstadt, S. N. (2000). Multiple modernities. Daedalus, 129, 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaonkar, D. (1999). On alternative modernities. Public Culture, 11(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottweis, H., & Kim, B. (2010). Explaining Hwang-Gate: South Korean identity politics between bionationalism and globalization. Science, Technology and Human Values, 35(4), 501–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottweis, H., Salter, B., & Waldby, C. (2009). The global politics of human embryonic stem cell science. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gottweis, H., & Triendle, R. (2006). South Korean policy failure and the Hwang debacle. Nature Biotechnology, 24, 141–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, H. (2006). Folks, how can I tell you this news?: A journalist’s investigation of the Hwang affair. Seoul: Sahoepyungron. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Han, C. (2008). Corporate social responsibility: Today’s assignment. Studies on Corporate Law, 22(1), 149–175. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Han, K., Hur, J., & Lee, C. (2009). Engineering ethics education: Issue and strategy. Studies in Engineering Ethics, 12, 31–41. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hankuk Daily. (2007). Missionary for ethical management: Kookhyun Moon, the CEO of Yuhan-Kimberly. March 12, 2007. (in Korean).

  • Hankuk Daily. (2007). Mihee Jang, a famous actress, faked her degree. August 18, 2007. (in Korean).

  • Hankuk Daily. (2009). In the era of CEO ordeal, ethical management rises. September 26, 2009. (in Korean).

  • Hankuk Daily. (2010). The appealing court also ruled to give Hwang a suspended prison sentence. December 17, 2010. (in Korean).

  • Hankuk Daily. (2010). Serial resignations of candidates for prime minister and ministers: Lie is lethal to politicians and cabinet members. August 30, 2010. (in Korean).

  • Hankuk Daily. (2010). Songwriter was guilty and jailed due to the plagiarism of Hyori Lee’s song. October 25, 2010. (in Korean).

  • Hankyoreh. (2008). Socially responsible corporations that practice ethical and transparent business are rising. June 21, 2008. (in Korean).

  • Hankyoreh. (2009). The court ruled that Woo Suk Hwang fabricated papers: Hwang got a suspended prison sentence. October 27, 2009. (in Korean).

  • Haran, J., & Kitzinger, J. (2009). Modest witnessing and managing the boundaries between science and media: A case study of breakthrough and scandal. Public Understanding of Science, 18(6), 634–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, S. (2007). Research on the program of establishing research ethics in the scientific and engineering community. Seoul: Ministry of Science and Technology. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hong, S. (2008). The Hwang scandal that “shook the world of science”. East Asian Science, Technology and Society, 2(1), 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, W. S., et al. (2004). Evidence of a pluripotent human embryonic stem cell line derived from a cloned blastocyst. Science, 303, 1669–1674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, W. S., et al. (2005). Patient-specific embryonic stem cells derived from human SCNT blastocysts. Science, 308, 1777–1783.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ji, D. (2006). Korean conglomerates. Seoul: Samgakhyung Biz. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. (1993). Bad blood: The Tuskegee syphilis experiment (2nd ed.). New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kakuk, P. (2009). The legacy of the Hwang case: Research Misconduct in biosciences. Science and Engineering Ethics, 15(4), 545–562.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang, Y., Kim, B., & Han, J. (2006). Silence and frenzy: Seven years of documents on the Hwang affair. Seoul: Humanitas. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kang, E., Yi, S., & Cho, E. (2007). Current status of research ethics education for life scientists and its curriculum. Journal of ELSI Studies, 5, 35–55. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaya, I. (2004). Modernity, openness, interpretation: A perspective on multiple modernities. Social Science Information, 43(1), 35–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, D. (2006). Editorial: Responding to fraud. Science, 314, 1353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, H. S. (2006). The cause of the Hwang affair and its social implications. Economy and Society, 71, 237–255. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. (2006). Science as multiple social phenomena and Hwang Woo Suk as a techno-scientific alliance. History Review, 74, 82–114. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. (2009). Public feeling for science: The Hwang affair and Hwang supporters. Public Understanding of Science, 18(6), 670–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, H. W. (2006). Mass media’s strategy for covering uncertainty: Research on journalists covering Dr. Hwang’s scandal. Master’s thesis. Sogang University. Seoul. Korea. (in Korean).

  • Kim, O. (2007). Establishing and promoting research ethics: Cases of foreign universities. Seoul: Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D. (2007). A study on the researcher’s whistle-blowing from an ethical perspective. Ethics Studies, 66, 27–49. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, T. H. (2008). How could a scientist become a national celebrity: Nationalism and Hwang Woo-Suk scandal. East Asian Science, Technology, and Society, 2, 27–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, L. (2008). Explaining the Hwang scandal: National scientific culture and its global relevance. Science as Culture, 17, 397–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y. (2010). Thinking about Samsung conglomerate. Seoul: Sahoipyungron. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., & Lee, W. (2007). Why and how are people seduced to fabricate their diplomas?: Various cases on diploma fabrication. Joongang Monthly, 382, 129–133. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. (2008). Good publication practice guidelines for medical journals. Seoul: Aramedit. (in Korean).

  • Korean Broadcasting System. (2010). Scholar and paper: Asking the way of study at Seoul National University. Broadcasted on April 20, 2010. (in Korean).

  • Korean National Assembly. (2008). Law number 9100: The bioethics and biosafety act. June 5, 2008. (in Korean). http://www.law.go.kr/LSW/LsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=87356.

  • Kwangju Daily. (2007). Younghun Ju, a famous songwriter, faked his degree and his explanation was also revealed as a lie. August 22, 2007 (in Korean).

  • Kyunghang Daily. (2010). Chabol’s fist beyond the law. December 14, 2010. (in Korean).

  • Kyunghang Daily. (2010). President Lee’s theory of the fair society. September 7, 2010. (in Korean).

  • Lee, S. (2006a). Hwang Soo Suk’s nation. Seoul: Bada Publishers. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, I. (2007). The understanding of citation and plagiarism for establishment of the research ethics. Ethics Research, 66, 1–25. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, I. (2008). A survey on research ethics activities in Korea. Seoul: Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, I. (2009). Problems of redundant publication and the establishment of ways of research. Korean Discourses on Philosophy, 26, 305–323. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lie, J. (2000). Han unbound: The political economy of South Korea. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. (2008). Establishing and promoting research ethics: At national and transnational level. Seoul: Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology. (in Korean).

  • Ministry of Government Legislation. (2009). Presidential decree number 21634: Regulations for management of government-funded research projects. July 22, 2009. (in Korean). http://www.law.go.kr/LSW/LsBdyPrint.do.

  • Ministry of Science and Education. (2007). Practical research ethics. Kyunggi, Korea: Ministry of Science and Education. (in Korean).

  • Ministry of Science and Technology. (2007). Government order number 236: Guides for securing research ethics. February 8, 2007. http://kautm.net/kautm02/data/view.asp?bname=pds&no=445.

  • Ministry of Science, Technology, and Education. (2009). Government order number 128: Guides for writing research notes in government-funded research projects. June 22, 2009. (in Korean). http://www.law.go.kr/LSW/jsp/ls05/AdmRulPrint.jsp?id=print.

  • National Bioethics Committee. (2006). Report on ethical problems in Professor Hwang Woo-Suk’s research. February 1, 2006. (in Korean).

  • Oh, J. (1999). Korean politics: The quest for democratization and economic development. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oh, S. (2008). Thesis on general education plan for research ethics. Korean Language Literature 67, 515–536. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, K. (2006). Government policy and guideline on research misconduct and integrity. Seoul: Science and Technology Policy Institute. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, K. (2008). Settlement of actual issues in implementing the system securing research integrity through case studies. Seoul: Science and Technology Policy Institute. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, K. (2009). A survey on Korean researchers’ perceptions of research ethics. Seoul: Science and Technology Policy Institute. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, J., Jeon, H., & Logan, R. (2009). The Korean press and Hwang’s fraud. Public Understanding of Science, 18(6), 653–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prosecutors’ Office. (2006). Criminal investigation report on the fabrication of stem cell research. May 12, 2006. (in Korean).

  • Resnik, D., Shamoo, A., & Krimsky, S. (2006) Fraudulent human embryonic stem cell research in South Korea: Lessons learned. Accountability in Research, 13, 101–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reverby, S. (2000). Tuskegee’s truth: Rethinking Tuskegee syphilis study. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Science Times. (2007). Declaration for the code of ethics for scientists and engineers. (in Korean). http://www.sciencetimes.co.kr/article.do?atidx=0000019590.

  • Segye Daily. (2009). The court ruled that Hwang is guilty. October 27, 2009. (in Korean).

  • Seoul Daily. (2007). Famous Buddhist monk, Jikwan, suspected of faking his degree. September 13, 2007. (in Korean).

  • Seoul National University Investigation Committee. (2006a). Final report on Professor Woo Suk Hwang’s research allegations. January 10, 2006. (in Korean).

  • Seoul National University Investigation Committee. (2006b). Supporting material on former Professor Woo Suk Hwang’s research misconduct. May 1, 2006. (in Korean).

  • Shin. K. (2008). Research ethics in social science research. Conference for Korean Association of Social Work. (in Korean).

  • Son, W. (2007a). Analysis of current research ethics education in Korean universities. Philosophical Thought, 24, 143–183. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Son, K. (2007b). The study on the case-based approach in the research ethics education program. Ethics Research, 64, 53–80. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • Song, S. (2007). Discussion of science ethics in a Korean context. Journal of ELSI Studies, 5, 1–18. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

  • The Korean Chemical Society. (2008). Research ethics symposium. October 17, 2008. Jeju International Convention Center. Jeju, Korea.

  • Wohn, Y. (2006). Seoul National University dismisses Hwang. Science, 311, 1695.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wohn, Y., & Normile, D. (2006). Prosecutors allege elaborate deception and missing fund. Science, 312, 980–981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo, H. (2007). Making a research ethics educational program for elementary, middle, and high school students. Seoul: Korea Research Foundation. (in Korean).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank reviewers for their valuable comments and criticisms. We are also grateful to Gardner Rogers who edited this paper. This research was funded by Science and Technology Policy Institute in Korea.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Kyung Hee University, 1 Hoegi-Dong, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea

    Jongyoung Kim

  2. Science and Technology Policy Institute, Specialty Construction Center, 26th floor, 375-70 Shindaebang-Dong, Dongjak-Gu, Seoul, 156-714, Republic of Korea

    Kibeom Park

Authors
  1. Jongyoung Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kibeom Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jongyoung Kim.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kim, J., Park, K. Ethical Modernization: Research Misconduct and Research Ethics Reforms in Korea Following the Hwang Affair. Sci Eng Ethics 19, 355–380 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-011-9341-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-011-9341-8

Keywords

  • Hwang affair
  • Ethical modernization
  • Research ethics
  • Scientific misconduct
  • Regulation
  • Stem cell research