Although the name of Woo Suk Hwang is fading fast in the public mind, die-hard supporters of the disgraced South Korean stem cell researcher are busier than ever with activities from one-person vigils to mass demonstrations. Pro-Hwang rallies involving several thousand people have taken place almost every weekend in downtown Seoul, some accompanied by performances, fundraising bazaars, and lit candles.
Now, Hwang followers have taken up a fresh cause: pressuring the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) to screen a TV program that defends Hwang's science and accuses collaborators of having deceived him. On recent weekends, more than 1000 people--many of them members of an online community called "I Love Hwang Woo Suk"--have gathered in front of the broadcaster's offices. On 3 April, police arrested 65 who were camping out near KBS. (They were released the next day.) The station announced on 4 April that it would not run the program; the producer vowed to put it on the Internet.
Demonstrations have by no means all been peaceful. Last week, a man drove his car into the Seoul National University administration building; a month earlier, several women swore at and pulled the hair of the spokesperson of the investigative panel that accused Hwang of fraud. Others conducted mock funerals of the school's president and dove under his car. In February, a man burned himself to death, saying Hwang should be allowed to resume his research.
KBS has reported that Hwang, dismissed from his university post last month, has received job offers from two research institutes abroad.
CREDIT: D. YVETTE WOHN
