Seoul National University will this month apply for international patents in ten countries for the embryonic stem cell cloning technology of scientist Hwang Woo-suk.

A university official said Tuesday that the university will complete application procedures within the month, as a foundation supporting Hwang has agreed to pay 120 million won for the applications.

The ten countries are South Korea, the United States, Japan, China, the European Union, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and Brazil.

Hwang applied for international patents to the Patent Cooperation Treaty for technology related to his 2004 and 2005 theses published in the journal Science, but has not applied for patents to relevant regional authorities to maintain his patent rights.