Abu Dhabi — Hwang Woo-suk, the controversial South Korean researcher once internationally infamous for a major stem cell research fabrication scandal, has officially surrendered his South Korean citizenship after obtaining a passport from the United Arab Emirates.

Official government gazette records reveal that an individual matching Hwang's exact birth year and hometown of Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, was stripped of Korean nationality on April 9, following the acquisition of UAE citizenship.

Hwang currently operates in Abu Dhabi as the Chief Executive Officer of UAE Biotech, an advanced life sciences research facility. His appointment follows years of financial and institutional backing from the Gulf nation. Observers note that his path to citizenship was heavily facilitated by high-level patronage, widely attributed to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Deputy Prime Minister and owner of Manchester City F.C. Hwang previously acknowledged Mansour’s personal support in a 2024 published study on animal cloning and referred to him as his supervisor in a prominent streaming documentary.

The scientist's transition to the Middle East began accelerating around 2019, when his former domestic organization, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, was re-established under Abu Dhabi's umbrella before its final domestic corporate liquidation late last year. In recent promotional media released by his current institution, Hwang praised the UAE as an ideal global hub for biotechnology, emphasizing ongoing projects in animal health, gene editing, and endangered species preservation.

Hwang's scientific career has been dogged by controversy for decades. In the early 2000s, he achieved global acclaim for pioneering claims regarding human embryonic stem cells published in the journal Science. However, domestic and international investigations soon exposed widespread data fabrication, resulting in his dismissal from Seoul National University in 2006. At the height of his domestic career, his research had been heavily fueled by approximately 18.6 billion KRW (roughly 13 to 14 million USD) in taxpayer-funded state grants.

In the wake of the 2006 fallout, the South Korean government revoked his prestigious "Top Scientist" designation. Furthermore, state authorities finalized the formal revocation of his 2004 Supreme Scientist Award earlier this year, clearing procedural hurdles that had previously delayed the penalty.

With his naturalization in the UAE—which has increasingly opened its doors to elite international scientists and medical professionals—Hwang appears to have firmly closed the chapter on his turbulent career in South Korea.

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