Disgraced cloning scientist loses Korean citizenship after becoming UAE national

Résumé détaillé

Hwang Woo-suk, the South Korean scientist whose landmark stem cell papers were found to be fabricated, has lost his Korean citizenship after becoming a UAE national and says he has applied to get it back.

A list of people who lost South Korean nationality, issued in August by the Justice Ministry's Cheongju Immigration Office, included a Hwang Woo-suk born in 1953 who acquired UAE citizenship on April 9, The Korea Herald reported.

The man's registered domicile in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, and other personal details matched those of the former Seoul National University professor, the newspaper said. Under Article 15 of South Korea's Nationality Act, citizens who voluntarily acquire a foreign nationality automatically lose their Korean one.

Hwang, 73, told The Asia Business Daily in an interview on Monday that he reported the loss to the South Korean Embassy in the UAE on the day he was granted Emirati nationality, then applied to regain Korean citizenship on the embassy's advice. He said he was awaiting the outcome of the Justice Ministry's review.

"I got a call asking me to come for a cup of tea, and when I went, it was a surprise ceremony granting me nationality," he said about acquiring UAE citizenship.

He also said there appeared to be no application or in-person screening in the UAE process, and that the host announced at the ceremony that although the UAE does not in principle allow dual nationality, it would let him hold both South Korean and UAE nationality.

Hwang is CEO of the UAE Biotech Research Center in Abu Dhabi, where he leads research into animal cloning, stem cells and genome editing, with a focus on animal health and biodiversity.

South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk after an embryo injection operation on a surrogate mother dog at the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, a world leader in pet cloning, in Seoul, June 29, 2016. Photo by AFP

The Korea Herald said Hwang is believed to have received Emirati citizenship on the recommendation of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's vice president and deputy prime minister.

The UAE changed its rules in 2021 to let certain foreigners, including scientists, doctors and investors, obtain citizenship…

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