'Assassination Attempt' Independence Activist Executed; Ha Young's Great-Grandfather Was the Doctor Who Saved 'Traitor of the Nation' Yi Wan-yong [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

It has been confirmed that actor Ha Young (33, real name Ahn Ha-young)'s great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, was a member of the pro-Japanese organization where 'traitor of the nation' Yi Wan-yong was active.

Records show that Ahn Sang-ho participated as a councilor when the Daetong Friendship Association was established in November 1916. The Daetong Friendship Association was an industrialists' group founded by Min Young-gi, a pro-Japanese collaborator who served as vice president of the Dongbang Industrial Development Corporation, with him serving as chairman. Many prominent pro-Japanese collaborators of the era, including Yi Wan-yong, Jo Jung-eung, Song Byung-jun, and Lee Yun-yong, participated as members.

Furthermore, there are records indicating that Ahn Sang-ho was one of the doctors who saved Yi Wan-yong. According to a paper published in Volume 32 of the National Institute of Korean History's Journal of Historical Studies, on December 22, 1909, Yi Wan-yong was attacked with a dagger by independence activist Lee Jae-myung at Seoul Myeong-dong Cathedral, suffering wounds to his shoulder and abdomen.

However, the assassination attempt failed. Yi Wan-yong survived despite being stabbed three times because he underwent Korea's first thoracic surgery. Ahn Sang-ho's name is included among this medical team. The records state that Ahn Sang-ho, along with Dr. Hakjeon of Haseong Hospital, the president of Andong Hospital, Director Guji and Vice-Director Goe of Daehan Hospital, and former physician Park Jong-hwan, participated in the treatment and saved Yi Wan-yong's life.

At that time, Lee Jae-myung, who was arrested for the assassination attempt, was sentenced to death and died for his country on September 30 of the following year.

While treating Yi Wan-yong as a doctor does not necessarily signify pro-Japanese activities, it is bitterly ironic that Ahn Sang-ho, unlike saving Yi Wan-yong, is the figure suspected of poisoning Ko Jong (황제).

Earlier, in 2004, Kim Mun-gil (Prof.) of the Department of Japanese Language at Busan University of Foreign Studies released a document claiming that Princess Deokhye, the only daughter of Emperor Gojong, asserted that the officially known cause of Emperor Gojong's death was not cerebral hemorrhage but 'poisoning by the emperor's personal physician.' According to this document, Emperor Gojong was poisoned on January 21, 1919, after drinking black tea laced with arsenic prepared by former physician Ahn Sang-ho, who was instigated by the Governor-General's Office. However, regarding this document, historians have evaluated that it is difficult to believe Princess Deokhye, who was only seven years old in 1919 when Emperor Gojong died, knew precisely about the poisoning and that she likely told her Japanese friend a rumor of poisoning that was widely circulating at the time.

Ahn Sang-ho was also featured in an article on December 10, 1918, in the daily newspaper Maeil Sinbo, published by Jo Seon (총독) institutional investors, under the title 'The Home of Assimilation between Japan and Korea' (의 가정), citing it as a case where 'living like Japanese people and assimilating is exemplary.'

Ahn Sang-ho, who married a Japanese wife and established a family, proudly stated: "I have never worn Korean clothing once, nor can I eat even a little spicy food," and "My children only speak Japanese at home. They cannot speak Korean at all. We are raising them as a completely Japanese household. Only Japanese is used within the house, and there is no interaction with Koreans." The concept of 'Naisen Ittai' (Japan and Korea as one body) was the core pro-Japanese logic used by collaborators during the Japanese colonial period to justify their treasonous acts.

Meanwhile, Ha Young's agency, Vistars Entertainment, issued a statement on the 11th regarding the controversy over her great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho: "We would like to address the part we previously stated was 'baseless.' Upon further verification, we have confirmed that records actually exist showing Ahn Sang-ho's name listed as a councilor of the Daetong Friendship Association in 1916," thereby reversing their previous position.

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*This content was translated by AI.