In a Friday announcement, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said that his government intends making a $90-million investment for reviving its stem cell research program in 2012.

The decision implies that with the industry having witnessed a slow down for nearly over one year, South Korea - which was one of the world's leading countries in stem research, along with the US - is now apparently aiming for a "core new growth engine."

South Korea's absence from the stem research scene over the year gave other countries - including Britain, China, and Japan - to move into an advantageous position --- especially ever since the scientific community in South Korea suffered a notable blow after a scandal in which scientist Hwang Woo-suk reportedly manipulated key information on cloning stem cells.

About South Korea's decision to promote the stem cell industry as "a core new growth engine" quite like the IT industry, President Lee reportedly told Reuters that while the country was undecided about the future course of its quest for stem cell research, "other nations streamlined their regulations and aggressively expanded their investments in research."

In his reassurance that the new stem cell research team will work towards changing the regulations to facilitate simpler clinical and licensing measures, Lee said that government will create "a national stem cell bank" that will chiefly "produce, preserve and supply stem cells to various researchers in the country on a stable basis."