Domestic Experts Also Debate the 'Corona Wuhan Origin Theory'

Dr. Yen Limeng. Photo by YouTube capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Domestic experts are also debating the claim by a Hong Kong scholar that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was artificially created through genetic recombination. While some see a high possibility of artificial origin, others argue that the evidence is weak.

On the 17th, Seo Jeong-seon, chairman of the Korea Bio Association and CEO of Macrogen, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "Since the Hong Kong scholar's claim is consistent in content, I think it needs to be reviewed," adding, "Because it is not a completely absurd claim, the truth will soon be verified worldwide, including in the United States."

Earlier, Dr. Yan Limeng, a virologist from Hong Kong, published a paper on the open information site 'Zenodo' on the 15th (local time), asserting that the COVID-19 virus was not naturally occurring but artificially created through genetic recombination. Dr. Yan cited the presence of a 'furin cleavage' phenomenon, which has not been found in other coronaviruses, as evidence. Regarding this, Chairman Seo said, "There may have been attempts such as inserting genes from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus (furin cleavage)."

However, Chairman Seo expressed doubts about Dr. Yan's claim that the Chinese government deliberately created the COVID-19 virus and spread it worldwide. He said, "Since China also suffered great damage, I think it was accidentally created rather than with malicious intent," adding, "It may have been produced and leaked during the process of manipulating existing viruses for research purposes."

On the other hand, Kim Tae-hyung, senior researcher at Theragen Bio, views the claim as baseless. In a media interview, Senior Researcher Kim said, "Dr. Yan has claimed since early this year that the virus was leaked from the Wuhan laboratory after being manipulated, but she has never presented any scientific data or peer-reviewed papers proving the virus was engineered." Unlike papers published in international academic journals, Dr. Yan's paper posted on Zenodo has not undergone verification by other peer scholars.

Senior Researcher Kim refuted, "When the genome of the virus causing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) was released last January, scientists tried to find signs of manipulation in the virus, but only about ten papers were published concluding that it was a naturally occurring variant."