South Korea launched on Wednesday an ambitious project to make the country a global hub for stem-cell storage and research, hoping to further cement its status at the forefront of cloning research.
Helped by generous government support and an absence of some of the red-tape and ethical debate that has hampered research in countries such as the United States, South Korea is fast becoming a key centre for stem-cell research.
Stem cells are master cells in the body that can develop into any cell type. Scientists are trying to learn how to manipulate them for transplants to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's or diabetes.
"The work being done here is not about getting ahead financially. It's about starting international co-operation that will go on to benefit the entire mankind," President Roh Moo-hyun said at the opening of The World Stem Cell Hub.
Stem cells will be stored at Seoul National University Hospital and made available to international researchers under the project.
So-called stem-cell banks already exist in Britain and the United States.
South Korea's government had invested 30 billion won ($28.5 million) in stem-cell research, said Im Jung-gi, chief executive of the hub project.