"No endorsement of pro-Japanese activities": Hye-sung Lee on indirect mention of Ha-young

Introduction video for the book 'What is Justice?'"It's being conveyed differently from my intentions."Former announcer Lee Hye-sung addressed the controversy over defending pro-Japanese collaborators that arose from her YouTube book review video. /THE FACT DB[THE FACT | Reporter Moon Chae-young] Former announcer Lee Hye-sung has directly clarified the controversy over defending pro-Japanese collaborators.Lee Hye-sung posted on her social media on the 21st, "I am writing to correct the recent misinterpretation of my video content, which has been conveyed differently from my intentions," adding, "I have summarized the key points for those who may not be able to watch the entire video."She continued, "To get straight to the point, I said in the video, 'None of us can be free from historical responsibility, and we must live carrying that responsibility.' This means that even if I did not directly commit the act, we cannot ignore the wrongdoings of our ancestors."She also explained, "This content is a topic discussed in the chapter 'Should We Atone for the Sins of Our Ancestors?' from Michael Sandel's book 'What is Justice?' This question is a common argument raised by those who oppose apologies for historical wrongdoings, and Professor Sandel presents a counterargument."Lee Hye-sung stated, "We are 'narrative beings' who understand ourselves through stories, and because the stories of our ancestors have accumulated to make us who we are today, we cannot pick and choose only the proud parts of the past."In particular, she emphasized, "The book also introduces Professor McIntyre's view, which describes the attitude of 'It has nothing to do with me because it happened before I was born' as 'moral shallowness.' I deeply sympathized with this perspective, which is why I introduced it in the video."Finally, she concluded, "Let me be clear once again. I have never defended pro-Japanese actions, nor have I ever expressed the opinion that 'we should not atone for the sins of our ancestors.' The sentence read in the video was a question posed by the book, and I introduced the counterargument to it as well. I am correcting this because that sentence was taken out of context and conveyed as my personal opinion."Previously, on the 20th, Lee Hye-sung uploaded a video titled 'The Justice We Believed in Might Be Wrong | What is Justice?' to her YouTube channel 'Lee Hye-sung's 1% Book Club.'In the video, she said, "Recently, there was a controversy when it was revealed that a public figure's great-grandfather committed pro-Japanese acts during the Japanese colonial period." Although she did not reveal the name, many netizens interpreted this as referring to the controversy surrounding actress Ha Young's pro-Japanese great-grandfather that arose in August.Lee Hye-sung then posed the questions, "Should we atone for the sins of our ancestors? Furthermore, should the nation apologize for past historical wrongdoings?" However, these remarks became controversial as they were perceived as her personal beliefs.Lee Hye-sung joined KBS as an announcer in 2016. After leaving in 2020, she has been active as a freelance broadcaster. In February, she appeared as a contestant on MBN's entertainment program 'Cheonhajepang: Bake Your Dream.'mcy21@tf.co.kr[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]