Actor Ha-young, who drew attention by saying she comes from a family of doctors for four generations. However, as it was revealed that her great-grandfather was a council member of a pro-Japanese organization and his insufficient historical awareness came to light, the industry has continued to cut ties.
Ha-young's real name is An Ha-young. Her great-grandfather is An Sang-ho, who graduated from Tokyo Jikei Medical School in Japan in 1902, returned to Korea to teach Western medicine and served as a royal medical staff member. Ha-young also seemed to feel proud of her great-grandfather's background, saying on the KBS2 program Problem Child in House, which aired on the 7th, "My great-grandfather went to Japan to learn Western medicine and was the first doctor to open a clinic in Hanyang."
This was not the first time Ha-young boasted about her family. Before appearing on Problem Child in House, Ha-young said in interviews and elsewhere that she came from a family of doctors for four generations, saying that her great-grandfather, grandfather, father and older sister all worked in the medical field. Until then, many eyes were on Ha-young's 'gold spoon' background.
But the situation changed as allegations of pro-Japanese actions by Ha-young's great-grandfather An Sang-ho emerged. A 1918 article in the Maeil Shinbo, the official newspaper of the Japanese general government, raised suspicions of pro-Japanese activity, saying An Sang-ho married a Japanese woman and followed Japanese lifestyle practices. Furthermore, although her grandfather An Bu-ho was said to have devoted himself to treating Hansen's disease at Sorokdo Hospital, that facility—since the founding of Sorokdo Jikei Clinic in 1916 during the Japanese colonial period—was a place where severe human rights abuses against Hansen's disease patients, including forced isolation, confinement and assault, sterilization surgeries and forced abortion, dissection and massacres, were rampant, which added fuel to the controversy.
At that time, Ha-young's agency Busters Entertainment dismissed the related controversy as "groundless." But as records about the great-grandfather continued to be exhumed, the controversy grew widely, and ultimately Ha-young's side reversed its position a day after announcing it was "groundless."
"After additional confirmation, we verified that there is indeed a record showing that great-grandfather An Sang-ho's name appeared on the 1916 membership list of the Daejeong Friendship Association council. We sincerely apologize for hastily responding that it was 'groundless' without sufficient verification and causing confusion. Ha-young recently mentioned her family's four-generation medical background while responding to questions during a broadcast program. The actor herself feels very heavy about unintentionally causing this controversy. Our company has learned deeply through this incident how careful verification is required when conveying historical facts and a person's background to the public. Ha-young also deeply reflects on causing concern through this matter and will approach things more cautiously and humbly going forward."
However, the apology could not cover up the controversy over the great-grandfather's pro-Japanese actions as critics pointed out parts of the statement that referred to An Sang-ho as 'teacher' and the fact that Ha-young did not post the apology herself. The issue particularly angered many netizens given that the 81st Liberation Day was less than a week away.
Ha-young, who debuted in 2019 with KBS2's Doctor Prisoner and finally shone in The Trauma Code: Heroes on call and Teach You a Lesson, has been tripped up by the family she had been so proud of. Problem Child in House, the KBS2 program that became the starting point of the controversy over Ha-young's family, was pulled from on-demand viewing at the broadcaster's request, OSEN confirmed.
The advertising industry, which is particularly sensitive to such controversies, also moved. OSEN's reporting found that clothing brand Atid made Ha-young's commercials private on its YouTube channel. The company did not state the reason for making them private, but it appears to be related to the great-grandfather controversy. Samsung Electronics' Samsung Art TV commercial, which ran in 2025, was also made private. The fact that the advertising industry reacted suggests that the matter is being taken very seriously.
In particular, a post on the Anyang city official blog that introduced Ha-young's great-grandfather An Sang-ho as an independence activist was also made private. The post about An Sang-ho on the Anyang city official blog contained the passage, 'Through reporting I first learned about teacher An Sang-ho. I can't believe there are so many independence activists in Anyang. Independence activists include those who lead by confronting Japanese leaders and acting publicly, but also figures who showed that one can carry out independence activities in their own fields,' but it has now been made private.
Meanwhile, Ha-young canceled an interview for the Netflix series Our Sticky Love that had been scheduled for the 14th.
[OSEN]