A disgraced South Korean scientist who claimed to have cloned a human embryo is suing the university that fired him over the controversy in a bid to get his job back.

Hwang Woo-Suk, a vetinary professor, said Seoul National University terminated his contract based on "distorted and exaggerated" evidence gathered during an internal investigation.

The university fired Mr Hwang in March after an internal probe found that he faked results contained in papers published in key academic journals.

Mr Hwang has acknowledged inflating his data, but maintains he has the technology to do what he claimed.

"The dismissal decision is not just a personal matter that brings a scientist down, but would deprive many people of their hope and expectation altogether by blocking opportunities of unique research that Mr Hwang has built up in his lifetime," the lawsuit says.

In two academic papers published in 2004 and 2005, Mr Hwang claimed to have created the world's first cloned human embryos and extracted stem cells from them, raising hopes of finding new cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The journals have since retracted both articles.

The 53-year-old scientist is also on trial for charges of embezzlement and fraud for allegedly accepting private donations based on the outcome of the falsified research, and of misusing private and government research funds.

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