'Military service evasion' Yoo Seung-jun's third visa lawsuit... LA Consulate General appeals

Yoo Seung-jun wins in the 1st and 2nd trials... “Rejecting visa issuance is a deviation and abuse of discretion.”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Bitna Kim = The third lawsuit filed by singer Yoo Seung-jun (48, American name Steven Seung-jun Yoo) to cancel the refusal to issue a visa to enter Korea has been decided by the Supreme Court.

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Consul General in Los Angeles (LA) submitted an appeal to the Seoul High Court Administrative Division 8-2 (High Court Judges Kim Bong-won, Lee Young-chang, and Choi Bong-hee).

Previously, the appellate court ruled in Yoo's favor as in the first trial on the 2nd.

Yu, who debuted in 1997 and was active as a singer in Korea, promised to join the military on TV, but after leaving the country for a performance in January 2002, he obtained American citizenship and avoided military service.

As public criticism against Mr. Yoo intensified, the Ministry of Justice restricted Mr. Yoo's entry into the country based on the Immigration Control Act, saying that he was 'a person who has reason to believe that he may engage in actions that harm the interests of the Republic of Korea or public safety.'

When Mr. Yoo turned 38 in August 2015, he applied for a visa as an overseas Korean (F-4) at the Consulate General in Los Angeles.

This is in accordance with the old Overseas Korean Act, which states that even if a person has lost their nationality for the purpose of avoiding military service, they can be granted residency status as an overseas Korean when they turn 38.

However, the LA Consulate General refused to issue the visa in September of the same year, and Mr. Yoo filed his first lawsuit to cancel it.

After a reversal and reconsideration, he received a final ruling from the Supreme Court, but the LA Consulate General refused to issue it again, saying, "Mr. Yoo's exemption from military service is likely to harm the national interest."

Accordingly, Mr. Yoo filed a second lawsuit in October 2020 and ultimately won in the Supreme Court in November 2023.

However, when the LA Consulate General refused to issue a visa again in June 2024, Mr. Yoo filed a third lawsuit in September of that year.

The first trial ruled in Yoo's favor, saying, "Compared to the public interest gained by refusing to issue a visa, the plaintiff's disadvantage is so great that it constitutes an illegal deviation and abuse of discretion that violates the principle of proportionality." The second trial also upheld the lower court's decision.