::: KANGHO Attorneys at Law :::

[Case] Dr. J. W. Cho, successfully represented the SNU R&D Foundation in the litigation for return of research funds against a SNU professor who fabricated her stem cell paper

On August 24, 2016, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Soo-kyung Kang, a former Seoul National University (SNU) veterinary professor who was dismissed for fabricating stem cell papers and researches, must return 44.89 million won worth of research funds to the SNU R&D Foundation.

Dr. Jung Wook Cho, a managing partner of KANGHO Attorneys at Law, and Jeong Eun Kim, an associate attorney of KANGHO Attorneys at Law, represented the SNU R&D Foundation and led this case to victory. Jeong Eun Kim who majored in biotechnology played a major role in the victory as a biotechnology expert.

The court said that since Soo-kyung Kang engaged in research misconduct while writing her papers with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), she has an obligation to pay the SNU R&D Foundation the entire amount of research funds that the SNU R&D Foundation was paid back to the NRF. Soo-kyung Kang argued that it was unfair to claim the entire amount because the amount of the refund was over-calculated, but the court refused to accept her argument. In 2013, Soo-kyung Kang filed a petition with the SNU Appeal Commission for Teachers seeking the cancellation of dismissal, but it was not accepted. Then she filed an administrative litigation against the SNU Appeal Commission for Teachers seeking the cancellation of the above decision, but the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against Kang's request on January 8, 2016.