Ha Young [Still from Netflix's "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call"]
Ha Young [Still from Netflix's "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call"]

Actor Ha Young, embroiled in controversy over her great-grandfather's alleged collaboration with Japanese colonial authorities, has decided to withdraw from the upcoming season of the Netflix drama series "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call."

Netflix said Tuesday that Ha Young would not appear in the follow-up to "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call," adding that the decision was made out of respect for the actor's wishes.

Ha Young recently informed the production team that she would be unable to participate in the project.

"The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" is based on a web novel of the same name and follows a brilliant trauma surgeon, Baek Gang-hyeok (played by Ju Ji-hoon), who joins a struggling trauma unit to turn it around. Season 1 was released last year to strong viewership, and filming for the follow-up season is expected to begin in October.

Ha Young played lead nurse Cheon Jang-mi in Season 1, a role that raised her public profile considerably, and she had been expected to return for the new season.

The controversy erupted while she was promoting another Netflix drama series. During the promotion, she described her family as "a family of doctors for four generations," which drew attention to her great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho and his ties to pro-Japanese collaboration.

Ahn Sang-ho, who studied in Japan and became the first modern private-practice physician in Korea, served as a council member of the Daejeong Chinmok-hoe — a pro-Japanese organization whose members included prominent collaborators such as Yi Wan-yong and Song Byeong-jun. He treated Yi Wan-yong after Yi survived an assassination attempt, and in interviews he expressed such strong identification with Japan that he said he had adopted Japanese customs in language, dress and food. He was even cited as a model case of "naeseon yunghwa," the Japanese colonial policy promoting the assimilation of Korea and Japan into one.

Some questioned how much responsibility a descendant should bear for an ancestor's collaboration, raising concerns about guilt by association. But the stronger criticism was that Ha Young's family had shown no historical awareness or shame — going so far as to boast on television about being a "four-generation medical family" built on that legacy. Critics also noted that while descendants of independence fighters often struggle financially, descendants of collaborators continue to enjoy wealth accumulated through their ancestors' collaboration.

Ha Young is also filming a new SBS drama series. Although production is in its final stages, SBS has said it is "carefully deliberating" over whether she will appear in the show and when it will air. Her departure from "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" has drawn fresh scrutiny over the future of her acting career.


paq@heraldcorp.com