By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - Disgraced South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk will open a laboratory in Seoul next month to resume his work on animal cloning, and perhaps restart research on human embryonic stem cells, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Hwang left his post at Seoul National University in December after an investigation panel said in a preliminary report Hwang's team had deliberately fabricated key data in two papers on embryonic stem cells that were once heralded but now debunked.
Hwang went on trial earlier this month, with prosecutors charging the man once hailed as a national hero with fraud and embezzlement.
Lee Geon-haeng, Hwang's lawyer, said private contributors had provided the funds to put Hwang back into a laboratory.
"It is Dr. Hwang's belief that the only way to reclaim his honor and repay the people who have helped him, and win their forgiveness, is to produce accomplishments in research," Lee said by telephone.
Hwang will open a research facility in Seoul and employ many researchers who have worked with him before, Lee said.
Medical researchers have said it will be nearly impossible for Hwang ever to publish again in a major journal because of the fraud perpetrated by his team.
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