Ha Young's Great-Grandfather Ahn Sang-ho Linked to 'Poisoning of Emperor Gojong' in Newly Discovered Historical Records

*This content was translated by AI.

Amid ongoing controversy over actor Ha Young's great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho's alleged collaboration with Japan, records have surfaced in a Local Government regional history archive suggesting his involvement in the theory that Emperor Gojong was poisoned.

On the 30th, Weekly Kyunghyang reported that the official Gyeonggi-do Guri City regional history publication titled "Guri City: Origins of Place Names and Clan History," released in February 2004, describes Ahn Sang-ho (1874–1927) as a controversial figure linked to the poisoning theory of Emperor Gojong in its section on "Figures of Guri."

The document was produced as an academic survey report commissioned by Guri City in 2004 from the Traditional Culture Content Research Institute at Kyung Hee University. Ahn Sang-ho was introduced as the first modern-era figure featured in the "Figures of Guri" section.

According to the record, in January 1919, Ahn Sang-ho examined Emperor Gojong, who collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage at Hamnyeongjeon Hall within Deoksugung Palace, alongside a Japanese physician named Moriyatsu. The document further states that after Gojong's death, Ahn Sang-ho and others were suspected of administering poison to the emperor under Japanese instigation. However, it also notes that due to insufficient evidence, the authenticity of Ahn Sang-ho's involvement in the poisoning cannot be definitively confirmed.

This contradicts Anyang City's "Anyang City History," which previously evaluated Ahn Sang-ho as a figure with strong anti-Japanese nationalist sentiments. Earlier, in 2020, Anyang City had introduced him on its official blog as a local independence activist, but recently switched the post to private following the emergence of collaboration allegations.

The scrutiny over Ahn Sang-ho's past began after statements made by his great-great-granddaughter, actress Ha Young. In various entertainment programs and YouTube content she appeared in for promotional purposes, Ha Young repeatedly emphasized that her family has been a lineage of physicians for four generations. She stated, "My great-grandfather was among the first to establish Western medicine Jeon Mun (Rep.) in Hanyang," adding, "After studying medicine in Japan, he opened Korea's first clinic Yang (Rep.) in Hanyang and treated patients with Ko Jong (황제)."

Ha Young's great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho graduated from Tokyo Jikei Medical School in 1902 and was the first Korean to obtain a Japanese medical license. He is also known as a figure suspected of collaborating with Japan during the colonial period. This fact only came to light later, sparking public outrage.

Ultimately, Ha Young apologized, saying, "I had only a fragmented understanding of my great-grandfather's life based on stories passed down through our family. I spoke about him as if he were a source of pride without full knowledge. Not knowing the truth does not justify ignoring or trivializing history. I deeply accept this mistake and sincerely apologize as his descendant." However, the controversy shows no signs of subsiding.

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*This content was translated by AI.