[Sportschosun Jung Yoo-na] As controversy continues over pro-Japan activities linked to actress Ha Young’s great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho, Seo Kyoung-duk has sharply criticized Japanese media for describing the backlash against Ha Young as a “modern-day guilt by association” case.
On the 14th, Seo Kyoung-duk said on his social media account, referring to reports by Japanese outlets, “As controversy continues over the pro-Japan activities of actress Ha Young’s great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho, Japanese media have described the criticism directed at Ha Young as a ‘modern-day guilt by association’ case, sparking debate.”
Earlier, on the 12th, the Japanese outlet JB Press published a column under the theme of “Why does Korea not forgive the descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators?” and covered the controversy surrounding Ha Young’s great-grandfather.
The outlet claimed, “Korean entertainment has long carried a stigma: the label of ‘descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators.'” It added, “The past actions of Ha’s great-grandfather, whom she has never even met, are being treated as a problem,” calling it “something that is truly hard to understand.”
Professor Hiromi Kamoshika, a guest commentator for Fuji Television Network, also wrote in a separate column, “In Korea, there is a saying that if you fight for independence, three generations are ruined, but if you collaborate with Japan, three generations prosper.” He stressed that remembering the past is important, but argued that making even advertisements private because of suspicions about a great-grandfather amounts to modern-day “guilt by association.”
In response, Seo questioned the Japanese media directly.
Seo said, “I want to ask whether Japanese media are in any position to make such criticism,” and pointed out, “Which country distorted the history of forced labor and had it listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site?”
He continued, “Have they ever offered sincere apologies and compensation to the comfort women?” He then criticized Japan, saying, “Japan is the country that still insists, against all reason, that South Korea’s Liancourt Rocks are its own territory.”
He went on to say, “Japanese media should first act with the right historical awareness before criticizing other countries,” and added sharply, “Aren’t you ashamed?”
Ha Young had recently mentioned on a broadcast that her family was a “fourth-generation family of doctors.” After it became known that her great-grandfather was Ahn Sang-ho, who worked as a doctor during the Japanese colonial period, suspicions of pro-Japan activities arose over his conduct at the time.
Ahn Sang-ho’s name appeared on the list of 21 council members of the Daejeong Friendship Association, an organization founded in 1916. According to a 2007 paper titled “The Daejeong Friendship Association and the Naeseon Harmony Movement” by Jang Shin, a senior researcher at the Institute for Korean Historical Studies, the police bureau of the Government-General of Chōsen described the association in 1927 as “a Naeseon harmony group that acknowledged colonial rule and aimed to promote harmony between Koreans and Japanese.”
Bang Hak-jin, secretary-general of the Center for Historical Truth and Justice, who has participated in compiling the Biographical Dictionary of Pro-Japan Collaborators since 2009, also said in interviews with KBS and YTN that “Ha Young’s great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho was indeed a pro-Japan collaborator.”
As the controversy grew, Ha Young eventually released a handwritten apology on the 12th, saying, “I take my wrongdoing seriously and sincerely apologize as a descendant. I am even more sorry to have caused trouble at a time ahead of Liberation Day because of my shortcomings.”
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