[Sports Today Reporter Kim Tae-hyung] Today (the 20th), the first hearing of the third administrative lawsuit filed by singer Yoo Seung-jun (Steve Yoo) for entry into Korea will be held.
On the afternoon of the 20th, the 5th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Kim Soon-yeol) will proceed with the first hearing of the lawsuit filed by Yoo Seung-jun against the Los Angeles Consulate General and the Ministry of Justice, which seeks to confirm the non-existence of the entry ban decision and to cancel the visa issuance refusal.
Yoo Seung-jun has been unable to set foot in Korea for 23 years due to a military service evasion controversy. In 2002, just before enlisting, he left the country for overseas performances and subsequently acquired U.S. citizenship, exempting him from military service. Later that year, the government decided to ban his entry according to the Immigration Control Law, preventing him from coming to Korea.
In October 2015, he applied for an overseas Korean visa (F-4) at the General Consulate in Los Angeles, but it was denied. Yoo Seung-jun filed lawsuits and obtained final Supreme Court victories twice.
However, the Consulate General again refused to issue the visa in June of last year. In September of the same year, Yoo Seung-jun filed a lawsuit to cancel the refusal decision and also filed a lawsuit to confirm the non-existence of the entry ban against the Ministry of Justice, launching the third lawsuit.