(26 Oct 2009)
POOL
1. South Korean cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk (red tie) entering the courthouse for hearing surrounded by security, supporters and media
AP TELEVISION
2. Medium of Hwang entering
3. Wide of Hwang entering
4. Close-up of Hwang entering
5. Supporters applauding
6. Hwang leaving hearing
7. Zoom in on Hwang, supporters clapping and Hwang bowing to the supporters
8. Pan from supporters to Hwang with media
9. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Hwang Woo-suk, South Korea cloning scientist:
"You should talk to my lawyer."
10. Close-up of Hwang and media, security, supporters jostling
11. Hwang exiting
12. Close-up of Hwang exiting surrounded by supporters and media
13. Wide of Hwang outside courthouse, surrounded by media and supporters
14. Close-up of Hwang getting into his car
15. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Park Hyung-jae, Hwang supporter:
"He should be researching in a laboratory. As one of the citizens who has common sense, I do not understand the fact that he is in a trial for about four years (instead of continuing his research)."
16. SOUNDBITE: (Korean) Choi Kum-ji, Hwang supporter:
"To quickly gain the patent right, we are hoping that doctor Hwang Woo-suk gets the research approval and continues his studies, and we have faith that this day will come."
17. Close-up of courthouse sign
18. Wide of courthouse building
STORYLINE
A disgraced cloning expert who falsely claimed major breakthroughs in stem cell research was convicted on Monday for embezzlement and other charges connected to the scandal, but he will not serve time in prison.
Hwang Woo-suk, 56, was once considered a national hero in South Korea for his work on stem cells and for producing the world's first cloned dog, Snuppy.
He was cleared of the main charge of fraud, but was convicted of embezzling research funds and illegally buying human eggs for his research.
Prosecutors had asked for four years in prison, but Judge Bae Ki-yeol of Seoul Central District Court said Hwang had shown remorse and gave him a suspended sentence, sparing him jail if he stays out of trouble for three years.
Hwang, who appeared confident as he walked into the hearing, made no comment as he left the courthouse.
The verdict marked the culmination of a long fall from grace for a man once hailed as a pioneer in stem cell research.
In 2004, Hwang and former colleagues at Seoul National University claimed in a paper published in the journal Science that they had created the world's first cloned human embryos - and had extracted stem cells from them.
Stem cell research is highly sensitive, and Hwang had been the only South Korean scientist allowed to carry out studies on the master cells that scientists say could lead to revolutionary cures for hard-to-treat diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
A year later, Hwang's team also claimed in the journal that they had created human embryonic stem cells genetically matched to specific patients, a purported breakthrough that promised a way to withstand rejection by a patient's immune system.
But questions about his claims led to an investigation by a university committee.
The committee concluded that the 2004 paper was based on faked data, and also cast doubt on the 2004 findings.
The journal, Science, retracted both papers.
The South Korean government stripped him of the right to conduct stem cell research in 2006.
He was charged later that year of fraud for allegedly accepting some two (b) billion won (two (m) million US dollars) in private donations under false pretences.
Hwang was accused of embezzling 800 (m) million won (800-thousand US dollars) and buying human eggs for research in violation of South Korea's bioethics laws.
During an August hearing, Hwang pleaded for leniency.
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