On the Kosdaq, Hwang Woo-suk- or at least news regarding Hwang Woo-suk- has triggered ups and downs for the past few years. Most recently, the announcement that Hwang will clone dogs for the U.S. bio venture BioArts sent related stocks soaring up to the daily limit.

On the day of the announcement by BioArts, ST Cube closed at 12,000 won, up 14.8 percent from the previous day, and J Com closed at 3,250 won, also up by 14.8 percent. Sansung P&C, which has invested in stem cell research ventures, also hit the daily high, closing at 10,150 won.

According to the JoongAng Daily, Park Byung-soo, the majority shareholder of ST Cube, is a long-time patron of Hwang and the chairman of the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation. Hwang’s mother-in-law has links to J Com. Other bioengineering, genetic and pharmaceutical firms were also bullish.