When will 'King of Clones' premiere on Netflix? Details explored 

Netflix has dropped the first look at the controversial King of Clones and has set a release date for June 23, 2023. The documentary film is based on the life and works of the sensational figure in stem cell research, Hwang Woo-suk, a South Korean scientist. With a total run time of 1 hour and 25 minutes, King of Clones will depict the growing precedence and the shocking downfall of Hwang's research on human cloning.

Known for his works Deciphering Indonesia with Cheryl Marella, and Deciphering India with Anjan Sundaram, this documentary is filmmaker Aditya Thayi's attempt at bringing forward the role of ethics in the nuanced world of scientific research. The official synopsis for King of Clones on Netflix reads:

"From groundbreaking human cloning research to a scandalous downfall, this documentary tells the captivating story of Korea's most notorious scientist."

Considering the sensitive nature of the topic in the scientific community and South Korea, Netflix brings to the table an objective take on Hwang Woo-suk and his contribution to science.

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King of Clones - Hwang Woo-suk's first interaction with the World since the revelations

Born in South Korea, Hwang Woo-suk initially focused on veterinary medicine. He began his career studying animal cloning and achieved significant success, including the cloning of cows and pigs. Hwang's breakthrough came in 2004 when his research team claimed to have successfully cloned the first human embryo extracted embryonic stem cells from nine patients.

In 2005, the scientific community was shaken when allegations of research misconduct and ethical violations surfaced. The allegations against Hwang were primarily related to research data manipulation and fabrication. However, upon taking a closer look, it was revealed that the research had been falsified and the patient-specific stem cells were derived from eggs donated by researchers working with him - a direct violation of scientific ethics.

Hwang was dismissed from his position at the Seoul National University while the government barred him from research and rebuked his financial support. His reputation was severely tarnished. Furthermore, he was found guilty of embezzling research funds and procuring human eggs on the black market. Ever since the legal feud, Hwang has maintained a relatively low profile.

As Variety reports in an exclusive interview, it took nine months for Thayi to reach Hwang for King of Clones. He presently continues to work from Abu Dhabi under the sponsorship of Sheikh Mansour. Hwang says that he turns down approximately 50 interview requests per month from American and Korean media. Thayi says:

“There’s a reason why he said ‘yes’ to me, and I probably think it’s because I was this Asian international, he felt like he could trust me to tell his version of the story – and definitely not being Korean helped me in my access,”

Aditya Thayi co-founded Peddling Pictures with Kavitha de Silva Wijeyeratne, the ex-head of line production of Endemol Shine.

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King of Clones - A Look at the Teaser

Netflix has not dropped an official trailer for King of Clones. However, a teaser for the documentary is available for watch under the 'Remind Me' section on the website. The teaser talks about the infamous scientist saying:

"Good intentions is never an excuse for bad behaviour. Look what happened to Dr. Hwang. The fact that he was trying to do something for the good of everybody does not excuse such profound misbehaviour."

The voiceover continues,

"He's sitting on top of the world. He's done something no other human being has done and then he takes the complete fall and collapse. It is a story for the ages in some ways."

Watch Hwang Woo-suk's career serve as a cautionary tale about the effects of scientific misconduct in King of Clones that releases exclusively on June 23, 2023, on Netflix.