Seoul, South Korea ? Disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk asked his fellow South Koreans for forgiveness today at his first public appearance in almost three weeks, saying he takes full responsibility for his fraudulent stem cell research.

“I ask for your forgiveness,” Hwang told a nationally televised press conference in Seoul. “I feel so miserable that it’s difficult even to say sorry.”

Seoul National University, where Hwang is a professor, on Tuesday issued a final report that he fabricated landmark published claims in 2004 and 2005 to have created the world’s first human embryonic stem stells from cloned embryos.

“The use of fake data … is what I have to take full responsibility for as first author. I acknowledge all of that and apologize once again,” he said.