Heo Young's 'Pro-Japanese' Ancestor Controversy Sparks Debate, Jung Hae-in's Lineage Praised

The Netflix romantic comedy The Sugar-Coated Love, starring Jung Hae-in (정해인) and Heo Young (허영), has recently sparked discussions about the actors' family backgrounds. While the series initially garnered attention for its plot and cast, the controversy surrounding Heo Young's great-grandfather and his alleged pro-Japanese ties led to a re-examination of Jung Hae-in's lineage, making their contrasting family histories a hot topic among Korean netizens.

To promote the new drama, Heo Young has been making frequent appearances on various variety shows. During one such appearance, she publicly discussed her family background, revealing that she comes from a "four-generation medical family." She stated that her great-grandfather, Ahn Sang-ho, studied medicine in Japan and was one of the first physicians to open a Western hospital in Hanyang, even reportedly treating Emperor Gojong.

Following the broadcast, netizens began investigating Ahn Sang-ho's past. Records show that Ahn Sang-ho graduated from the Tokyo Jikei Medical School in Japan in 1902. In 1918, he was interviewed by the Maeil Sinbo, a newspaper affiliated with the Japanese Government-General of Korea, where he mentioned marrying a Japanese woman and expressed a desire to live in the same manner as Japanese people. The resurfacing of these historical records has led to accusations of pro-Japanese sentiment against him.

Heo Young's agency initially denied the allegations on the 10th, asserting that the online claims of "pro-Japanese" ties were baseless. However, the next day, the agency retracted its statement and apologized, admitting that after verification, Ahn Sang-ho's name indeed appeared on the 1916 list of council members for the "Taisho Chinmokhoe" (Taisho Friendship Association). The agency also apologized for its hasty denial without sufficient prior investigation, causing the controversy to escalate.