Sydney - Australia might issue a patent to a South Korean scientist who falsely claimed to have cloned human embryos, news reports said Wednesday.

National patent agency IP Australia confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald that it was reviewing a patent application from Hwang Woo Suk, formerly of Seoul National University, for his disputed technology on cloning human embryos.

Hwang was once hailed as a national hero in South Korea before being embroiled in a scandal over falsified data on 2004 and 2005 studies in which he not only claimed to have cloned human stem cells but also to have developed patient-specific stem cells.

Despite being expelled from the university and banned from conducting human cloning research, he has applied for patents in 10 countries.

Australia would be the first to grant Hwang a patent in human cloning and would mean those using his technology would have to pay a royalty.

IP Australia was expected to grant the patent because it had received no opposition to the move. (dpa)