Steve Yoo (Yoo Seung-jun), the singer who has been barred from entering Korea for 22 years over draft-dodging controversy, is pushing back against a recently circulated “pardon request statement.” Yoo said, “I never asked for a pardon, and I don’t even know who issued that statement,” stressing that any attempt to reenter Korea has been about clearing his name.
Posting on his social media on the 13th, Yoo voiced frustration over a statement released via the “Yoo Seung-jun” gallery on DC Inside. “How am I supposed to take heat over a statement filed by people who don’t even understand the military or my situation?” he wrote, adding, “Even my official fan club had nothing to do with it.”
He doubled down, saying, “I have zero intention of making money in Korea. This was about restoring my reputation,” and called it regrettable to be dragged into the issue at all. Yoo also dismissed online chatter suggesting political ties.
Back in 2002, shortly after receiving his draft notice, Yoo left Korea for an overseas show and then obtained U.S. citizenship, sparking a firestorm. He was subsequently barred from entry under Article 11 of the Immigration Control Act. He later applied for an F-4 visa for overseas Koreans, but the Korean Consulate in Los Angeles denied it, prompting Yoo to sue to overturn the decision.
The Supreme Court has twice ruled in Yoo’s favor, yet the LA Consulate again refused to issue the visa after those rulings. Most recently, Yoo filed suit to cancel a third visa denial, while separately challenging the legality of the entry ban itself in an administrative lawsuit that is still ongoing.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)