The agency for actress Ha Young, whose real name is Ahn Ha-young, reversed its position on her great-grandfather's alleged pro-Japanese activities within a day and issued an apology.
Bisters Entertainment, Ha's agency, said in a statement on the 11th that it had "confirmed that records actually exist showing the great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, listed among the councilors of the Daejeong Friendship Society in 1916." The agency added, "We sincerely apologize for the confusion caused by our hasty response of 'no basis in fact' without sufficient verification."
The controversy began with an episode of the KBS2 variety show "Problem Children in the Rooftop Room," which aired on the 7th. On the program, Ha introduced her family as being in its fourth generation of doctors and said of her great-grandfather that he had "studied medicine in Japan, opened the first Western medical clinic in Hanyang, and treated Emperor Gojong." Shortly after the broadcast, online communities identified the figure as Ahn Sang-ho, a doctor who had been active from the final years of the Korean Empire, and raised the point that Ahn was listed among the councilors of the Daejeong Friendship Society, a pro-Japanese organization formed in 1916.
The agency initially dismissed the claim as baseless. But it changed its stance within a day after supporting materials were confirmed one after another, including a 1918 article introducing Ahn's household in the Maeil Sinbo, the organ of the Japanese Government-General of Korea, and the membership roster of the Daejeong Friendship Society. The agency went on to say the actress "is in a very heavy-hearted state," adding, "Through this incident, we have deeply realized how careful the verification must be when conveying historical facts and a person's record to the public."
Ahn Sang-ho's name is not listed in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators compiled by the Center for Historical Truth and Justice. However, Lee Jun-sik, former head of the Independence Hall of Korea, points out that the absence of the name from the dictionary is not an exoneration, and that the record of serving as a councilor of the Daejeong Friendship Society is itself a clear act of pro-Japanese collaboration. Ahn Sang-ho graduated from the Tokyo Jikei Medical College in Japan in 1902, becoming the first Korean to obtain a Japanese medical license. After returning home, he served as a physician to Emperor Sunjong and as a commissioned doctor for the Yi Royal Household, and opened the country's first Western medical clinic.
Ha Young made her debut in the 2019 KBS drama "Doctor Prisoner" and has since appeared in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," "The Good Detective 2," and "The Trauma Center," among others. She is currently starring in the Netflix original series.
