by STEVE HAN
Some disturbing news recently came out of Korea National Sports University as a professor was caught conducting illegal biopsies in the last decade on more than 200 people, over half of whom were or still are students at the academic institution, according to SBS.
The professor, only identified by his last name Kim, reportedly extracted muscle cells or tissues from students, after telling them that he would grant them higher grades if they participated in his experiment. One of the student-athletes who agreed to receive surgery sustained a serious hamstring injury, which later led to the end of his athletic aspirations, according to the SBS report.
Professor Kim, however, dismissed the notion of the procedures being problematic, saying that it is “only one of 200 people suffered a side effect.” He added that the biopsies were conducted to help student-athletes enhance their athletic performance.
“I’m not quite sure if my surgeries were illegal,” Kim reportedly told SBS. “That’s all I can say.”
Experts also warned that illegal biopsies could lead to infection and additional injuries that may not have been identified yet.