Composer Yoon Il-sang expressed his candid view on actress Ha-young, who has been swept up in backlash over her great-grandfather's pro-Japanese actions.
Yoon Il-sang mentioned Ha-young's controversy, which recently set the entertainment industry aflame, in a video titled "Il-sang hyung's honest talk about actress Ha-young's great-grandfather's pro-Japanese controversy" released on his YouTube channel Produce-sseol Yoon Il-sang on the 26th.
In the video, Yoon Il-sang opened by saying, "(Regarding the great-grandfather's alleged pro-Japanese acts) I think Ha-young did not know. If she had known, she would not have talked about her family on broadcast."
He then spoke about Ha-young's ancestor Ahn Sang-ho, saying, "This person's pro-Japanese actions exceeded imagination. The degree was extremely severe. The pro-Japanese acts themselves..." and said that the person who committed those acts should of course be criticized. He added, "Wasn't some disposition regarding that pro-Japanese history not properly carried out during the Rhee Syng-man administration? Isn't this being done again now? If that were to be carried out, I would support it."
However, he raised a warning against excessive criticism directed at descendants as individuals.
He conveyed his view, saying, "But if Ha-young did not know, if she did not know detailed family history, one might say 'isn't not knowing itself a problem,' but I think it is excessive to criticize Ha-young herself to this extent." He added, "Only the proper targets should be criticized precisely with a pinpoint approach."
When the producers said, "What people are saying is that the wealth accumulated through pro-Japanese actions keeps growing and growing," Yoon Il-sang replied, "But do you think such people are only one or two?" He said, "If people living now feel ashamed of their ancestors' actions and donate to descendants of independence activists or act benevolently, there is room for change," expressing concern that "if you indiscriminately criticize as now, even room for improvement will be blocked like collateral punishment."
Earlier, Ha-young revealed on the recently aired KBS 2TV Problem Child in House that she comes from a family of doctors for four generations, but after the broadcast, it emerged that her great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho had served as a councilor of the Daejeong friendship association, a pro-Japanese organization during the Japanese colonial period, and she was plunged into a major controversy.
Afterwards, Ha-young's agency was battered for an immature initial response, saying "groundless," and later Ha-young posted a handwritten apology acknowledging ignorance, saying, "I ignorantly brought up stories about my great-grandfather as if they were family pride in many places," and deeply apologized as a descendant.
[Photo] OSEN DB, video capture
[OSEN]