Actress Ha Young, whose legal name is An Ha-young, 33, posted a handwritten apology on social media on the 12th over her great-grandfather's collaboration with Japan's colonial rule, two days before Korea's Liberation Day.
In the note, Ha said she had only recently learned of the past of her great-grandfather, An Sang-ho, and offered an apology as his descendant. She acknowledged that she had spoken with pride on television about her family's four-generation line of doctors, saying she had known only fragments passed down through relatives and had never verified the facts. She added that she learned of her great-grandfather's pro-Japanese activities while researching the matter after the controversy erupted.
Ha also addressed her agency's earlier statement, issued right after the allegations surfaced, that they were groundless. She said that statement had gone out while she herself did not know the exact facts, and that allowing an incorrect explanation to be released without sufficient verification was her own failing. Not having known, she said, was no reason to take history lightly, and she felt a heavy sense of responsibility. She pledged to properly study her family history and its historical context and to take greater care in how she approaches history. She also said she would show respect for those who devoted themselves to the country and to liberation, including independence patriots.
The controversy began with an episode of the KBS 2TV variety show "Problematic Men of the Rooftop Room" that aired on the 7th. Ha appeared alongside actor Jung Hae-in to promote the Netflix drama "This Damn Love," describing her family as doctors for four generations, from her great-grandfather to her father and older sister, and noting that her great-grandfather had opened the first Western-style clinic in Hanyang and had treated King Gojong.
The controversy started after it emerged that Ha's great-grandfather, An Sang-ho (1872-1927), had been active in the Daejeong Friendship Association, a group of pro-Japanese figures during the Japanese colonial period. An was the first Korean to obtain a medical license in Japan, opening a hospital in Seoul's Jongno 3-ga district after graduating from the Tokyo Jikei Medical College in 1902. Records show he served as an outside physician to King Gojong and on the outside medical staff of Emperor Sunjong.
The Daejeong Friendship Association at issue was a body made up of upper-class Koreans, with Lee Wan-yong — one of the "Five Eulsa Traitors" who signed away Korea's sovereignty — serving as an adviser. An was listed as a councilor of the group in November 1916. According to a paper by Jang Shin, a research fellow at the Institute for Korean Historical Studies, the colonial Government-General's police bureau at the time defined the association as a group that recognized the Governor-General's rule and aimed at harmony between the Japanese and Korean peoples. An, however, is not listed in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators published by the Center for Historical Truth and Justice in 2009.
The day after the controversy broke, the agency said it had confirmed that An was indeed listed among the association's councilors in 1916. It also said it had come to recognize that careful verification is needed when conveying historical facts and a person's record to the public. A promotional interview for "This Damn Love" that had been scheduled in Seoul on the 14th, the day before Liberation Day, was canceled.
Ha made her debut in the 2019 KBS2 drama "Doctor Prisoner" and built her profile with roles in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" and "Model Detective 2" in 2022, "The Trauma Center" in 2025 and "True Education" in 2026. She currently appears in "This Damn Love," and has been confirmed for lead roles in the SBS drama "We Have a Chance," slated for release next year, and the Netflix series "The Trauma Center 2."
