South Korean prosecution said on Wednesday that it has formed a special team to conduct a full- scale investigation into suspicions surrounding disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk and his collaborators.

The special team is composed of experienced prosecutors from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

"Considering the mounting public interest and the gravity of the incident, the prosecution will thoroughly investigate all suspicions surrounding Hwang. We will also listen to the opinions of life science experts," Yonhap quoted a senior prosecutor as saying.

Earlier in the day, the prosecution already dispatched personnel to the office of an ad hoc panel of the Seoul National University (SNU) to collect various scientific materials.

After three-week investigation, the SNU panel concluded Tuesday in its final report that Hwang faked data in his two papers on stem cell research that were published in 2004 and 2005 in the U.S. journal Science.

Earlier Wednesday, South Korean government issued a statement, saying it will ask the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) to conduct audit of the governmental financial support to Hwang's team in the past years.

The BAI was reportedly to start audit over Hwang's team from next week.

At the same time, the South Korean government also strip the " Top Scientist" title from Hwang earlier in the day.

Source: Xinhua