An attempt at hush money to Kim Seon-jong in Hwang-gate?

UPI: SEOUL, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Two members of a stem-cell research team allegedly gave $30,000 to a former member of the group to retract comments about fabricating research data.

Professors Ahn Cu-rie and Yoon Hyun-soo, both of Seoul National University, allegedly gave the money to Kim Seon-jong during a trip this month to the University of Pittsburgh, where he had been working since he left the South Korean research team, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported Tuesday.

University officials say research by Professor Hwang Woo-suk was fabricated. Hwang said he would resign from the university but did not admit his work, involving the creation of stem-cell lines, was faked, the BBC reported.

Hwang, in research published in May in the journal Science, claimed South Korean scientists were able to clone human embryos that included DNA that matched genetic materials from 11 patients.

Officials claim Ahn and Yoon gave Kim thousands of dollars to retract statements regarding the research. Kim returned the funds to Seoul National University when he returned to South Korea, the newspaper said.

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