Singer Yoo Seung Joon who fled Korea to the US to avoid military service continues to be banned from entering Korea!
Yoo Seung Joon raised another objection to the ban that is preventing him from entering South Korea.
On November 17, the 9th and 3rd administrative divisions of the Seoul High Court held the second hearing of the appeal trial for the cancellation of the second refusal to issue passports and visas filed by Yoo Seung Joon against the Consulate General in Los Angeles, USA.
On this day, Yoo Seung Joon’s legal representative said, “I don’t think there was a special objective discretion review process at the consulate. The constitution also guarantees the protection of those who were born in Korea and acquired foreign nationality. Currently, Yoo Seung Joon is being treated worse than ordinary foreigners.”
However, the Consulate General in Los Angeles refuted that “visa issuance is a state-specific exercise of sovereignty and an area where the administrative agency exercises extensive discretion.”
In response, Yoo Seung Joon’s legal representative insisted, “According to the Overseas Koreans Act, even if you have renounced your nationality for the purpose of avoiding military service, it is right to grant you the right to stay if you are over the age of 38.”
In response, the Consulate General in Los Angeles dismissed his refute, saying, “It is problematic to interpret the provision of the law as saying that the Minister of Justice must issue a visa unconditionally just because he is over the age of 38.”
In January 2002, Yoo Seung Joon was to serve as a public service worker to fulfill his mandatory military service, but he obtained US citizenship to avoid military service ahead of enlistment and became the only person in history to be banned from South Korea for acquiring foreign citizenship. Afterward, he tried to enter Korea with an overseas Korean entry visa but was unable to.
