Court Rules in Favor of Steve Yoo Again in Appeal Over Visa Denial

A court has ruled once again in an appeal that the government's refusal to issue an entry visa to singer Steve Yoo (48, American name Steven Seungjun Yoo) should be invalidated.

The 8-2 Administrative Division of the Seoul High Court (High Court Judges Kim Bong-won, Lee Young-chang, and Choi Bong-hee) ruled in favor of the plaintiff, upholding the lower court's decision in a lawsuit filed by Yoo against the Consul General in Los Angeles.

The court did not provide detailed reasoning for the ruling in the courtroom.

This trial marks the appellate phase of Yoo's third lawsuit filed against the LA Consul General after his visa applications were rejected.

Yoo debuted in 1997 and was active as a singer in South Korea. Although he had publicly promised on television to fulfill his mandatory military service, he departed the country in January 2002 for a performance and subsequently acquired U.S. citizenship, thereby evading his military duties.

Amid surging public backlash against Yoo, the Ministry of Justice restricted his entry based on the Immigration Act.

The Ministry of Justice determined that Yoo fell under the category of individuals "deemed to have reason to believe that they might engage in conduct detrimental to the interests or public safety of the Republic of Korea."

In August 2015, after turning 38, Yoo applied to the Consulate General in LA for a visa under the Overseas Korean (F-4) status.

At the time, the Overseas Koreans Act stipulated that even if an individual lost their nationality for the purpose of evading military service, overseas Korean residency status could be granted once they reached the age of 38.

However, the LA Consulate General refused to issue the visa in September of that year, prompting Yoo to file his first lawsuit seeking to overturn the decision.

Although Yoo ultimately won at the Supreme Court following a retrial and final appeal, the LA Consulate General refused to issue the visa again, stating that "Yoo's evasion of military service obligations risks harming national interests."

In response, Yoo filed a second lawsuit in October 2020 and won a final victory at the Supreme Court in November 2023.

However, after the LA Consulate General refused to issue the visa once more in June 2024, Yoo filed his third lawsuit in September of the same year.

The first-instance court handling the third lawsuit ruled in Yoo's favor in August of last year, stating, "The disadvantages suffered by the plaintiff due to the visa refusal are excessively large compared to the public interest gained from it, violating the principle of proportionality and constituting an illegal deviation and abuse of discretionary power."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.