Actor Ha-young, known as coming from a "four-generation family of doctors," is embroiled in allegations that her great-grandfather was pro-Japanese. Ha-young's side acknowledged that the great-grandfather is indeed the modern-era physician Ahn Sang-ho but countered that the pro-Japanese claims spreading online are not true.
Ha-young's agency, Bisters Entertainment, said on the 10th, "It is true that Ha-young's great-grandfather is Ahn Sang-ho," adding, "The claim raised in online communities that he was pro-Japanese is groundless." However, regarding the material currently cited online as evidence of Ahn Sang-ho's pro-Japanese activities, it said it is "checking."
Earlier, on the 7th, Ha-young appeared on the KBS2 entertainment program "Problem Child in House" and revealed that she comes from a family of doctors for four generations. At the time, Ha-young said, "My great-grandfather opened the first Western medical clinic in Hanyang and treated Emperor Gojong."
After the broadcast, speculation spread online that Ha-young's great-grandfather is Ahn Sang-ho. Ahn, known as a modern-era physician, studied Western medicine in Japan, returned to Korea to run a Western-style hospital, and also took part in treating the royal family. It is also said that in 1919, when Gojong collapsed, he treated him alongside a Japanese doctor.
At the same time, controversy over Ahn Sang-ho's pro-Japanese record resurfaced. A report carried in the Maeil Shinbo in 1918 is said to include remarks to the effect that Ahn, who married a Japanese woman, was living in a Japanese style. Based on this, claims about Ahn's pro-Japanese leanings spread online.
Ha-young's side says there are parts of the pro-Japanese claims raised online that are not factual. As they are currently reviewing the relevant materials, specific positions and grounds require further confirmation.
Ha-young debuted in 2019 with the KBS2 drama "Doctor Prisoner." She later appeared in "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," "The Good Detective 2," and "Doona!," and gained recognition by playing nurse Cheon Jang-mi in "The Trauma Code: Heroes on call," released last year. Most recently, she starred as Go Eun-sae in Netflix's "Our Sticky Love."