On the controversy over Ha Young's great-grandfather, Yoon Il-sang says, "Collaboration should be criticized, but blaming descendants is a separate matter"

[Financial News] Composer Yoon Il-sang said that excessive criticism should be avoided in the controversy over actor Ha Young's great-grandfather's pro-Japanese activities.
On the 26th, a video titled "A casual talk with Yoon Il-sang about the controversy over actor Ha Young's great-grandfather's pro-Japanese activities" was uploaded to the channel.
When the discussion in the video turned to the controversy over Ha Young's great-grandfather, Yoon Il-sang responded cautiously. He said, "This is not easy. I think Ha Young did not know," and the production team added, "If she had known, she would not have talked about her family."
Yoon Il-sang said criticism is necessary when it comes to collaboration itself. He said, "Anyone who engaged in pro-Japanese activities should of course be condemned, and if possible, I support any later action to address that history." He added, "If Ha Young did not know the detailed history of her family, one could say that not knowing itself is a problem. But I think criticizing Ha Young herself to this extent is excessive. We should criticize only the exact target, like using tweezers."
On criticism that wealth accumulated through collaboration was passed down through generations, Yoon Il-sang also said it should be handled carefully to direct blame at descendants. He asked, "How many such people do you think there were? Back then, if you did not change your name under Japanese rule, some villages were said to have been wiped out. Then were all those people bad? If an ancestor was a slave, should the descendants also be called slaves?"
Yoon Il-sang also said that punishment for pro-Japanese activities and criticism of descendants living today should be treated separately. He stressed, "It is clear that those who collaborated were bad people and enemies of our nation. But if people living today, even though it is their ancestor's deed, feel ashamed and make donations to those who worked for liberation or do good deeds, there is enough room for change. But if we criticize them like this now, we completely block any chance for improvement. We must not go this way."
The production team also discussed suspicions related to Ha Young's grandfather. The controversy deepened after it was reported that her grandfather worked at a hospital in Sorokdo for Hansen's disease patients during a period when experiments close to torture were being carried out. However, it has not been confirmed whether he took part in human rights abuses at the time.
Yoon Il-sang also said more support is needed for independence activists and their descendants. He expressed regret, saying, "What they did is unforgivable. Yet they boast about it," and added, "We should think more about treating the independence activists who risked their lives, and their descendants, better. We should give them more visibility and more benefits. Rather than channeling the force of criticism, we should put more effort into rewarding gratitude."

Earlier, Ha Young appeared on KBS 2TV's "Problem Child in House" and said her family had been doctors for four generations, adding that her great-grandfather was the first Western medicine doctor in Hanyang to treat Emperor Gojong of Korea. She was then caught up in the controversy over her great-grandfather's pro-Japanese activities. Later, in a handwritten letter on the 12th, she apologized, saying, "Through this incident, I looked into related materials myself and learned about my great-grandfather's pro-Japanese activities. I reflect on lightly mentioning my family history without properly understanding the painful history of our country during the Japanese colonial period."

[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter