Professor Hwang Woo-suk, who is credited with the world's first successful cloning of a human embryo for the extraction of stem cells, says that the judgement on the ethical propriety of his breakthrough research should be left for future generations.

Hwang, a professor at Seoul National University, made the comments Thursday during a lecture in South Gyeongsang Province.

He said that it would be wrong to halt research in the field just because there was a lack of social consensus, stressing that the research to save lives must continue.

In support of his argument, Hwang cited the increasing difficulty of finding donors for organ transplants and the rejection of donated organs among recipients, which make such transplant operations risky.