Research misconduct and research integrity have been increased concerns in East Asian academic societies in the past ten years. Deliberating on the notable research misconduct cases in East Asia and analyzing their similarities and differences as well as their social, cultural, and environmental factors may help us understand why they occurred and how to improve them. In this issue Myungsim Kim, Jongyoung Kim, and Hee-Je Bak have explicated that Woo-Suk Hwang's event in 2004 was complicated and involved "political interests, hierarchy in disciplines, national research culture, and nationalism" in South Korea. Although it facilitated the development of the national mechanism in research ethics regulation and governance, the high social expectation for success in stem cell research and the disappointment resulting from the fraud have driven the South Korea government to increase support for stem cell research, publication, and commercialization. Yet, whether the research ethics culture and practice among scientists and the academic society has been substantially transformed remains a question.
