Lee Ji-ah and Kang Dong-won’s Opposite Reactions to Pro-Japanese Ancestry Controversies
According to The Fact on February 19, the prosecution dismissed the charges against Lee Ji-ah‘s father on February 7 due to insufficient evidence regarding document forgery and the use of forged documents.
The dispute among Lee Ji-ah’s father and his siblings reportedly began in 2013 when a large-scale land property in Manan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi Province worth approximately 35 billion KRW and previously left by the pro-Japanese figure Kim Soon-heung was returned following a military base relocation.
Amid this, past remarks made by Lee Ji-ah about her grandfather have resurfaced. In 2011, through her then-agency, she acknowledged Kim Soon-heung as her grandfather, stating, “My grandfather was a wealthy man even before Korea’s liberation. He dedicated himself to educational philanthropy.” However, she made no mention of his pro-Japanese activities and showed no signs of remorse regarding the past.
She confirmed learning about her grandfather’s actions in 2011, and after verifying the facts, she acknowledged that such actions cannot be justified. She stated that if the land in Anyang, at the heart of the controversy, was acquired during the Japanese colonial period, it should be returned to the state.
She concluded with a heartfelt apology: “I fully acknowledge the historical wrongdoings of my grandfather and sincerely apologize as a descendant. Moving forward, I will face the truth of history with humility and live with a sense of responsibility.”
In contrast, actor Kang Dong-won handled a similar situation differently. In 2017, when controversy arose online regarding his descent from a pro-Japanese figure, an old interview in which he had praised his maternal great-grandfather was brought up, leading to public criticism. At the time, Kang Dong-won responded through his agency, “I grew up hearing good things about my maternal great-grandfather since childhood. At the time of the interview, I was not fully aware of his wrongdoings.”
He further expressed his remorse over his maternal great-grandfather’s pro-Japanese actions “I am sincerely ashamed” and issued an apology. He also vowed, “Through this incident, I will study history more deeply and reflect on it.“