'Descendant of a Pro-Japanese Collaborator Confirmed': Ha Young Is Busy, Busy... Must Visit the Independence Hall and Sorokdo Too [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actress Ha Young finds herself at the center of daily criticism over controversies surrounding her ancestors' pro-Japanese collaboration. A sharp rebuke has now been directed at her.

Lawyer Lee In-cheol, known as a descendant of an independence activist, appeared on MBN's "The Punch" broadcast on the 13th regarding the controversy over Ha Young's great-grandfather's pro-Japanese activities. "I have no intention of personally criticizing Ha Young. She herself did not engage in pro-Japanese actions. However, there is one thing I must emphasize," he said, referencing the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai.

He continued, "It is located in a very small building in Shanghai. When I visited, I was moved to tears. I realized how much our independence activists suffered in such places. If you are moved to tears there, you are a patriot. Please visit the Independence Hall at least once on Liberation Day," he said with raised voice, eventually reddening his eyes.

Lawyer Lee In-cheol is known as the great-grandson of independence activist Song Gi-ju. He stated, "Descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators receive special benefits. They live comfortably and well. They are living incredibly well. Seeing this, can we say justice still exists? To restore justice, this issue must be addressed without fail," pointing to the problem of reclaiming assets from pro-Japanese families.

Recently, Ha Young proudly revealed on KBS 2TV's "Problem Children in the Attic" and other programs that she comes from a family of doctors spanning four generations. She said, "My great-grandfather was among the first to introduce Western medicine in Hanyang at the time," adding, "After studying medicine in Japan, he opened Korea's first clinic in Hanyang and treated patients."

However, after it became known that Ha Young's great-grandfather was a doctor named Ahn Sang-ho who was active during the Japanese colonial period, suspicions of pro-Japanese collaboration arose. Following her great-grandfather, controversies regarding her grandfather's employment at Sorokdo Hospital and other family members' suspected pro-Japanese activities continue to surface.

Writer So Jae-won, the source material author of the film "Wish," had previously publicly criticized Ha Young via personal SNS, stating, "Regarding her unbearably light-hearted boasting about her family background, I wish to convey this story cautiously and very carefully. The colonial period under Japan and the Republic of Korea are eras where one can never proudly claim such history—Sorokdo is precisely that."

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

At Sorokdo Hospital at the time, experiments were conducted by inserting needles into patients' chests to detect bacilli from bone marrow. These experiments caused extreme pain to patients; some reportedly died after their health deteriorated rapidly following the procedures. Even worse, patient corpses were used for anatomical practice without family consent. Autopsies continued until the 1960s, forced isolation until the 1970s, and abortions and sterilization surgeries until the 1980s.

In response to this, writer So Jae-won stated, "For ordinary people, medicine was a benevolent art that saved lives, but at Sorokdo, it became an art of killing." He added, "If you have ancestors whom you can proudly and confidently claim as your own, please visit Sorokdo. Confront the tragic history of the Japanese colonial period and what the Republic of Korea did there! Confirm with your own eyes and ears how your three-inch tongue has trivialized such precious sacrifices and unjust, grievous history!"

As the pro-Japanese collaboration controversies surrounding herself and her family have not subsided, Ha Young expressed on her personal SNS: "The fact that I was unaware of this does not justify ignoring or treating lightly this history. I deeply accept this fault and sincerely apologize as a descendant. It is especially regrettable that my shortcomings caused controversy just before Liberation Day."

Meanwhile, on the 14th, the Institute for Historical Truth released a statement titled "Position on Controversies Regarding Ahn Sang-ho," stating: "Ahn Sang-ho (1874–1927) was a professional doctor who graduated from the Korean Empire's Official Japanese Language School and Tokyo Jai Hospital Medical School. However, it is an undeniable fact that behind his impressive resume lay pro-Japanese and pro-imperialist collaborative activities as follows."

The Institute for Historical Truth argued: "The essence of this controversy does not lie in actress Ha Young herself being a 'descendant of a pro-Japanese collaborator,' but rather in the issue of 'lack of historical reflection and awareness'—making statements without even minimal historical reflection on her ancestors' colonial collaboration in the public sphere, thereby hurting the public. A humble self-reflection must precede any attempt to glorify or uncritically consume ancestral faults."

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*This content was translated by AI.