Hwang said the human embryonic stem cell research was doctored without his knowledge and called for an investigation into the matter, the Washington Post reported.

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"I sincerely apologise to the nation and the international community for using erroneous data in the papers," Hwang told a news conference in Seoul. "I was responsible for going over the data thoroughly, and if I had done so, we would have been able to avoid this huge crisis."

Stem cell research faked
His apology comes two days after an academic panel at Seoul National University, where most of Hwang's team did its research, concluded that claims of extracting stem cells from cloned human embryos were faked.

The research had been hailed as a breakthrough and gave hope to millions of people with incurable diseases.

On Wednesday, the president of Seoul National University apologized for the scandal, calling it a "blemish on the whole scientific community, as well as our country" and a "criminal act in academia," the Post reported.

(January 2006)

Read more: Stem cell study retraction?.

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