New SKorean law tightens rules on cloning

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

SEOUL (AFP) — South Korea's parliament on Friday passed a law to regulate research into cloning, following a scandal in which a now-disgraced expert claimed to have made the first human clone stem cells.

Cross-species cloning, in which DNA from human somatic cells is inserted into animal eggs, will now be punishable by up to three years in prison, the health ministry said.

"This law is aimed at enhancing bio-ethics," said Kim Seung-Il, a ministry official.

Hwang Woo-Suk used animal eggs to develop skills for cloning human embryos, Kim said.

He planted nuclei from human somatic cells into animal eggs before moving on to human-to-human cloning experiments using human eggs, the official said.

Hwang has been banned from any research using human...