Seoul National University (SNU) President Chung Un-chan has issued a public apology for causing great public dismay over disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk’s research fabrication.

In Wednesday’s announcement, Chung vowed to strictly punish those involved in fabricating Hwang's earlier theses, deeming such fabrication an ‘unforgivable academic crime’

He urged that the stem cell scandal be used as an opportunity for self-reflection, pointing out that the incident was not just the fault of a single researcher, but was overly inflated in the name of seeking out national interests.

The SNU head finished his remarks by expressing hope that the nation’s bioengineering sector would ultimately take another leap forward in the wake of the Hwang Woo-suk scandal.