Ha Young's great-grandfather had pro-Japanese activities; grandfather worked at a hospital where human rights were violated — 'shocking exhumation' [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

It has been revealed that Ha Young's grandfather, whose great-grandfather is embroiled in pro-Japanese controversy, worked as a doctor at the National Sorokdo Hospital, where human rights violations against leprosy patients are known to have occurred.

According to Ha Young's agency, Vistars Entertainment, Ha Young's grandfather was confirmed to be the late An Bu-ho, dean of the College of Medicine at Catholic University of Korea Joo Im (Prof.).

The late An Bu-ho (Prof.) is reported to have conducted research on leprosy at Sorokdo Hospital from 1949 to 1954. However, it has not been confirmed whether the late An Bu-ho (Prof.) participated in acts amounting to human rights violations at the hospital, and no documents supporting specific job duties or linking them to human rights abuses that occurred at Sorokdo at the time have been found.

According to the 'Survey on Human Rights Conditions of Leprosy Patients' released by the National Human Rights Commission in 2005, Sorokdo Hospital performed vasectomies on 1,191 leprosy patients from 1949 to 1958 during Kim Sang-tae (Director)'s tenure (1948–1954). At the time, a policy was also implemented allowing only married couples who had undergone vasectomies to cohabit.

At Sorokdo Hospital at that time, experiments were conducted in which needles were inserted into patients' chests to detect bacilli from bone marrow. These experiments caused extreme pain to patients; some reportedly died after their health rapidly deteriorated following the procedures. In addition, deceased patients' bodies were used for anatomical dissection without family consent. Autopsies continued until the 1960s, forced isolation until the 1970s, and abortions and sterilization surgeries until the 1980s.

Ha Young has recently drawn attention due to controversy over her great-grandfather, the late An Sang-ho's pro-Japanese activities. The late An Sang-ho graduated from Tokyo Keiai Medical School in Japan in 1902 and became the first Korean to obtain a Japanese medical license. After returning to Korea in 1904, he served as an imperial physician to Emperor Sunjong and as an advisor to the Governor-General of Korea, and opened Korea's first Yang (Rep.).

The late An Sang-ho was introduced in the pro-Japanese newspaper Maeil Sinbo as a 'model case of Korean-Japanese unity' by his friend, an institutional investor at Jo Seon (총독), and it has been confirmed that he was also a member of the Daetong Industrial Friendship Association, a pro-Japanese organization. The Daetong Friendship Association was established in November 1916 with Min Young-gi, vice president of the Oriental Development Company (a pro-Japanese colonial enterprise), as its chairman. Many prominent pro-Japanese figures of the era, including Yi Wan-yong, Jo Jung-eung, Song Byung-jun, and Lee Yun-yong, were members.

However, no clear evidence has been found confirming that the late An Sang-ho was a pro-Japanese colonial collaborator. There are also no records indicating he actively obstructed the independence movement through collaboration with Japan, nor is his name included in the 'Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators' published by the Institute for Joint Research on Colonial Collaboration History.

Ha Young's side initially responded to the pro-Japanese controversy surrounding her great-grandfather as "baseless." Later, on the 11th, they stated: "Upon further verification, we confirmed that there is indeed a record showing that our great-grandfather An Sang-ho was listed as a councilor in the Daetong Friendship Association in 1916. We sincerely apologize for causing confusion by hastily responding with 'baseless' without sufficient verification." They added, "Through this incident, we deeply realized how crucial careful verification is when conveying historical facts and an individual's biography to the public. Ha Young also takes this matter to heart and will move forward with even greater caution and humility."

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*This content was translated by AI.