Actor Ha-young speaks at a press event for the new Netflix drama series "This Bittersweet Love" held at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap·Netflix]
Actor Ha-young speaks at a press event for the new Netflix drama series "This Bittersweet Love" held at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Yonhap·Netflix]

As controversy grows over the alleged pro-Japanese collaboration of Ahn Sang-ho, the great-grandfather of actor Ha-young, attention is turning to whether the state could reclaim assets he accumulated during the Japanese colonial period. Particular interest centers on the Special Act on the Reversion to the State of Property of Pro-Japanese Anti-National Collaborators — commonly known as the Pro-Japanese Assets Reversion Act — which takes effect in December and allows the state to reclaim assets acquired, inherited or received as gifts through pro-Japanese activities.

Ha-young drew public attention after saying in recent broadcast appearances that her great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, was the first Western-trained physician to open a private clinic in Joseon and had treated Emperor Gojong, presenting her family as a four-generation line of doctors. Once it emerged that the great-grandfather in question was Ahn Sang-ho (1872–1927), controversy erupted over his conduct during the Japanese colonial era.

Ahn was among the first Korean students to study abroad on a government scholarship, graduating from Tokyo Jikei Medical School in 1902 and becoming the first Korean to obtain a Japanese medical license. After returning home, he served as personal physician to emperors Gojong and Sunjong. The controversy deepened when it emerged that in 1916 he served as a council member of the Daejeong Chinmokoe, a "Naeseon Yunghwa" organization that endorsed rule by the Japanese Government-General of Korea.

Ha-young had initially dismissed the allegations about her great-grandfather as groundless, but on Wednesday she posted a handwritten apology on her SNS account. "I have been bringing up stories about my great-grandfather as a source of family pride in various settings, without knowing the facts," she wrote. "I reflect on having casually mentioned my family history without properly understanding our nation's painful experience of the Japanese colonial period."

Broadcasting and ad world distances itself — official collaborator designation is key

The fallout has spread to the broadcasting and advertising industries. An interview tied to the new Netflix drama series "This Bittersweet Love" was canceled, and advertisements Ha-young had been appearing in for electronics and clothing brands were made private.

Some have also raised the question of whether assets Ahn Sang-ho built up during the colonial period could qualify as pro-Japanese property subject to state reclamation.

The Pro-Japanese Assets Reversion Act requires that assets acquired by pro-Japanese anti-national collaborators in exchange for cooperating with Japanese imperial rule revert to the state. The law covers assets obtained through pro-Japanese activities between February 1904, when the Russo-Japanese War began, and Aug. 15, 1945, as well as assets subsequently inherited from such property.

However, confirming a great-grandfather's pro-Japanese conduct does not automatically result in assets inherited by descendants reverting to the state. For a legal reclamation to proceed, the individual must first be officially recognized under the law as a pro-Japanese anti-national collaborator. Beyond that, the specific assets in question must be identified, and it must be established both that those assets were formed as a direct result of pro-Japanese activities and that they were subsequently passed down to descendants.

Even when inherited or gifted assets have already been disposed of, making direct reversion difficult, the proceeds may still be subject to reclamation. However, if the assets were transferred to a bona fide third party who was unaware of their pro-Japanese origin, or if that party paid fair value, the law protects the third party's rights.

According to currently available records, Ahn Sang-ho does not appear on the government's official list of pro-Japanese anti-national collaborators or in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators compiled by the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities. At this stage, therefore, significant hurdles remain before the state could even begin to consider initiating asset reclamation proceedings against Ahn's estate.

Political commentator Choi Hyeong-jin, speaking on JTBC's "Sageon Banjang" on Tuesday, said the key question is "whether the Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property, which is being revived in December, will designate Ahn Sang-ho as a new subject of investigation, and what scrutiny it will bring to how his assets were formed." He added that even if the great-grandfather's pro-Japanese conduct were confirmed, "that is not Ha-young's fault and should be judged separately — but as a celebrity who operates on public goodwill, she should at least use this controversy as an opportunity to turn adversity into something positive."


betterj@heraldcorp.com