Steve Yoo, the singer whose draft-dodging has kept him out of South Korea for more than two decades, just scored another legal victory: a Seoul court ruled in his favor in his third lawsuit over a denied visa.
On Aug. 28, the Seoul Administrative Court sided with Yoo in his suit challenging the Los Angeles Consulate General’s refusal to issue him a visa, effectively ordering the government to revisit its denial.
The court said the harm to Yoo outweighed any public interest in keeping him out, calling the refusal disproportionate and an abuse of discretion.
However, the judges emphasized that the decision does not endorse Yoo’s past behavior.
In a separate claim seeking confirmation that no formal entry-ban decision exists, the court dismissed the case, saying there was no reviewable government action.
Yoo became a lightning rod in 2002 after obtaining U.S. citizenship just before he was due to enlist, sparking intense backlash. South Korea’s Justice Ministry then barred his entry under the Immigration Control Act, and he hasn’t set foot in the country for 23 years. He applied for a Korean Overseas Resident (F-4) visa in 2015, was denied, and sued―ultimately winning at the Supreme Court in 2020 and again in 2023.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)