Actor Ha Young faces new allegations that great-grandmother was daughter of Japanese colonial official

Amid growing controversy over the pro-Japanese colonial-era activities of actor Ha Young's great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho, new allegations have emerged claiming that her great-grandmother was the daughter of a senior Japanese official at the Government-General of Korea during the Japanese occupation.

On Friday, a post appeared on the online community Bobaedream citing passages from a 1983 book by Kim Yong-suk titled "Research on Court Customs of the Joseon Dynasty," alleging that Ha Young's great-grandmother was the daughter of a high-ranking Japanese official at the colonial Government-General.

The cited material includes a record from a palace staff payroll list showing "Royal Household official Ahn Sang-ho, 225 won," accompanied by a passage stating that "his wife was the daughter of some Japanese general at the Government-General at the time, which made him all the more an object of suspicion."

The post's author quoted the book at length: "This payroll list was already drawn up after the annexation of 1910, so the dignity of the royal household could not conceal its decline — 'royal household official' was itself a Japanese-style title. Ahn Sang-ho was also the figure at the center of suspicion among 20 million people — the population at the time — surrounding the sudden death of the emperor. And rightly so, for his wife was the daughter of some Japanese general at the Government-General, which made him all the more suspect."

The controversy began when Ha Young appeared on the KBS 2TV variety program "Problem Child in House," which aired Aug. 7, and introduced her family as "a family of doctors for four generations." She drew attention by saying her great-grandfather had opened the first Western-style medical clinic in Hanyang and treated Emperor Gojong. It later emerged that the great-grandfather in question was Ahn Sang-ho, who had served as a council member of the Daejeong Chinmok-hoe — a pro-Japanese organization that included figures such as Yi Wan-yong and Song Byong-jun — and the controversy has since widened.

Ahn Sang-ho (1872–1927) was the first Korean to obtain a Japanese medical license and served as an outside physician to emperors Sunjong and Gojong. In 1916, his name appeared on the council member roster of the Daejeong Chinmok-hoe, known as a pro-Japanese organization. Records also indicate he married a Japanese woman, promoted a Japanese lifestyle and propagandized for "Naeseon ilche," the colonial policy of assimilation between Korea and Japan.

A 1918 article in the Maeil Sinbo newspaper quoted Ahn as saying, after marrying his Japanese wife, "I am exactly the same as a Japanese person. I do not own a single piece of Korean clothing, and I cannot eat spicy food."

Ha Young made her debut in the 2019 drama series "Doctor Prisoner" and has since built a reputation as a next-generation lead actor, appearing in the Netflix original series "The Girl Downstairs" and other productions including "Trauma Center," "True Education" and "This Damn Love."