Anyang City Introduced Ha Young’s Great-Grandfather as an Independence Activist… Six-Year-Old Post Made Private Amid Pro-Japanese Controversy

Ha Young Apologizes amid Controversy over Great-Grandfather An Sang-ho’s Pro-Japanese Actions

"I Only Learned of His Collaboration Recently... I Deeply Reflect"

Actor Ha Young (33, real name Ahn Hayoung) is facing controversy over allegations of pro-Japanese collaboration by her great-grandfather, Ahn Sangho (1872–1927). In response, the city of Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, has made private an official blog post that previously introduced him as an independence activist.

Written by the Citizen Reporting Team in 2020... Post Made Private Due to Pro-Japanese Allegations

Actor Ha Young. SNS screenshot

According to Yonhap News on August 13, the post in question was written in 2020 by Anyang’s citizen reporting team to mark the 75th anniversary of Korea’s liberation under the theme “Searching for Independence Activists from Anyang.” At the time, the article introduced Ahn Sangho as an independence activist from Anyang.

However, controversy recently erupted as Ahn Sangho’s pro-Japanese actions were re-examined. Consequently, on August 11, the city made the post private, which had been published in the citizen reporting team section of its official Naver blog.

An official from the city stated, “At the time the post was published, we were unaware of Ahn Sangho’s pro-Japanese activities,” and added, “Due to the ongoing controversy, we have made the post private.”

Ha Young: "I sincerely apologize for causing deep disappointment and hurt"

Handwritten Apology Letter by Hayoung. Hayoung Instagram

Earlier, on August 7, Ha Young revealed on the KBS 2TV variety program “Problem Child in House” that she comes from four generations of doctors. Afterwards, it became public that her great-grandfather was Ahn Sangho, a physician during the Japanese colonial period, igniting online suspicion over his historical activities.

In particular, controversy intensified as records surfaced that Ahn Sangho served as a council member of the Daejeong Chinmokhoe in 1916. According to a 2007 thesis titled “Daejeong Chinmokhoe and the Naeseon Amalgamation Movement” by Jang Shin, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Historical Studies, the Japanese Government-General of Joseon’s Police Bureau described the Daejeong Chinmokhoe in 1927 as “an organization that recognizes the rule of the Governor-General and aims for the harmony of Japanese and Korean peoples.”

As the criticism continued, Ha Young issued an apology on her social networking service (SNS) account the previous day, saying, “I sincerely bow my head in apology for causing deep disappointment and hurt.”

She explained, “I only knew about parts of my great-grandfather’s life through what my family had told me. Shamefully, in my ignorance, I mentioned my great-grandfather in various settings as if I were proud of him. Through this incident, I searched for related materials myself and came to learn about my great-grandfather’s pro-Japanese actions.”

She continued, “I deeply regret that I mentioned my family’s history so lightly, without truly understanding the painful history of our country during the Japanese colonial period.”

Meanwhile, Ha Young made her debut in 2019 in the KBS 2TV drama “Doctor Prisoner” and has since appeared in Netflix’s “Severe Trauma Center,” “Monthly Boyfriend,” and “True Education,” gaining recognition for her roles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.