Actor Ha Young speaks at a press conference for the Netflix series "Our Sticky Love" (2026) at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Aug. 5.NEWS1
The family fortune of actress Ha Young, who stars in Netflix’s “Our Sticky Love,” should come under scrutiny to determine whether vast tracts of land amassed by her great-grandfather, who allegedly engaged in pro-Japanese activities, should be reclaimed, a lawmaker said.
Rep. Park Eun-jung of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party raised the issue during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Friday, telling Vice Minister of Justice Lee Jin-soo that Ha Young’s great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, was a major landowner in the areas around Anyang and Gunpo in Gyeonggi during the colonial period from 1910 to 1945.
“Her great-grandfather did not accumulate that wealth later as a doctor,” Park said. “He was already a major landowner who had amassed wealth during the Japanese colonial period, so it appears to have been pro-Japanese property.”
Citing land survey records from the colonial period in the 1910s, Park claimed Ahn owned about 2,700 pyeong (8,900 square meters) of land that is now part of Gunpo. Ahn is also reported to have served as a member of the pro-Japanese group Daejeong Chinmokhoe, also known as the Taisho Friendship Association.
However, Ahn was not included on the official lists of individuals identified as pro-Japanese collaborators by the Presidential Committee for the Inspection of Collaborations for Japanese Imperialism. It also remains unclear whether the land Ahn owned is directly linked to the current assets of Ha Young’s family.
The land was expropriated by the state in 1983, but it has not been confirmed whether Ahn’s descendants still owned it at the time and received compensation, according to reports.
Park also acknowledged that it has not been determined whether the property is subject to recovery as pro-Japanese assets.
“Under the special law, we can determine whether a person should be designated as a pro-Japanese collaborator by comprehensively reviewing the nature of their organizational activities, their leading role, the extent of their involvement in promoting ‘harmony between Japan and Korea’ and whether they received compensation for cooperating with colonial rule,” she said.
She added, “Even if someone was omitted from past lists, the state should ensure that all such pro-Japanese assets are recovered.”
Actress Ha Young appears on the KBS2 variety show “Problem Child in House” (2018–) on Aug. 7. During the program, she said her great-grandfather Ahn Sang-ho had treated Gojong, the last emperor of Korea, and that her family had produced doctors for four generations, remarks that sparked the subsequent controversy.SCREEN CAPTURE
The controversy surrounding Ha Young’s great-grandfather began after she said on a television program on Aug. 7 that she came from a family of doctors spanning four generations, starting with her great-grandfather.
“My great-grandfather was the first doctor in Korea to study western medicine in Japan and open a practice here. He also treated Emperor Gojong (1852-1919),” Ha said at the time. After her great-grandfather was identified as Ahn, his activities during Japan’s colonial rule of Korea were revisited online.
A revised version of the Special Act on Asset State Confiscation for Pro-Japanese and Anti-National Collaborators to the State will take effect on Dec. 3. Under the revised law, Korea's Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Colalborators' Property, which ended its work in 2010, is set to be reestablished after a 16-year hiatus.
The commission will identify individuals who engaged in pro-Japanese and anti-national activities and investigate and determine whether their related assets qualify as pro-Japanese property. Property designated as pro-Japanese will, in principle, be transferred to the state.
Vice Minister of Justice Lee said, “A preparatory team has been formed and is carrying out the necessary work for the commission’s launch in December. We will make sure the commission is established smoothly and gets off to a good start.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
