The Los Angeles Times says that the recent cloning scandal surrounding stem cell pioneer Hwang Woo-suk has brought great distress and pain to the Korean people.

The Sunday report said that Hwang’s admitting to errors on a stem cell research paper published in Science magazine earlier this summer is being felt as a national tragedy.

The paper said South Koreans were visibly dejected by the apparent downfall of a man they thought had embodied the entrepreneurship and creativity to which their country aspires.

The report said that local doctors fear that the recent cloning scandal could damage the reputations of Korean scientific and medical communities and set back keenly anticipated research on thus-far-incurable medical conditions.

However, the daily was quick to add that many researchers remain confident that the approach Hwang used will ultimately produce useful therapies.