[yongjik]

From what I've heard, the chief of the Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics had personally called LK-99 out as a hoax - which might have been justifiable, given evidences, but it might explain the reluctance by the LK-99 team.

(Assuming the inventors of LK-99 believe it's real, they could be thinking "Why should I give you the honor of being the first outsider to verify the sample, when we could ask anyone else?")

[threeseed]

I think we should be careful to throw provocative words like hoax around.

There is no official statement from Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics saying it is a hoax only that they are still waiting for a sample from the original scientists.

At this point we don't know (a) whether LK-99 is a RT superconductor and if it isn't (b) whether it was simply an error in their research or a conspiracy amongst the scientists to commit fraud. Until we definitively know both I don't see why people should be slandered.

[lifthrasiir]

There were a couple of unofficial statements from the Chair of KSSC though. He is now known as the "Mr. Bahahaha" in the Korean internet because he initially dismissed a mail from Q-Center wrongly sent to him by starting his Facebook post---now removed---with "Bahahaha, the era of room-temperature superconductivity is here. Ambient pressure too! Shouldn't my fortune get better?" (translation mine).