A domestically developed embryonic stem cell technology has been exported to Japan, marking the first export of Korean stem cell research results to an advanced country.

A team led by Hanyang University medical professor Kim Kye-seong says it sold the international patent license on a microRNA gene to Japanese firm Mitsubishi Rayon.

The gene was discovered during joint stem cell research with a Seoul National University team in 2003.

The team expects that the combination of microRNA, which is found exclusively in embryonic stem cells, with Mitsubishi's gene chip system would enable analysis of the gene's appearance and function in various human cells.