‘Military service evasion’ Steve Yoo’s third visa lawsuit also heads to Supreme Court... LA consul general’s side appeals

[Financial News]  Singer Steve Yoo, 49 (U.S. name: Steve Sueng Jun Yoo), who has been unable to set foot in South Korea for more than 20 years amid controversy over evading military service, will see a third visa lawsuit ultimately go to the Supreme Court of Korea. 
According to Yonhap News Agency and other outlets on the 26th, the side of the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles filed a notice of appeal that day with the Seoul High Court’s Administrative Division 8-2 (High Court Judges Kim Bong-won, Lee Young-chang and Choi Bong-hee).
Earlier, on the 2nd, the appellate panel ruled in Yoo’s favor, as the first-instance court had, in his appeal in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the denial of his visa application against the Consul General in Los Angeles.
Yoo, who debuted in 1997 and became hugely popular as a singer in South Korea, promised on television to enlist in the military. But in 2002, shortly before enlistment, Yoo left the country citing overseas performances and then acquired U.S. citizenship, thereby avoiding military service. As public criticism of Yoo intensified, the Ministry of Justice barred Yoo from entering South Korea.
In August 2015, when Yoo turned 38, Yoo applied to the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles for a visa under the overseas Korean (F-4 visa) status. This was pursuant to the former Overseas Koreans Act, which allowed people who had lost their nationality to evade military service to receive overseas Korean status once they turned 38.
However, the Consulate General in Los Angeles denied the visa application, and Yoo filed a first lawsuit seeking to have the decision overturned.
After proceedings on remand and a further appeal, Yoo secured a final favorable ruling from the Supreme Court of Korea. However, the Consulate General in Los Angeles again denied the application, saying, “There is concern that Yoo’s evasion of military service obligations could harm the national interest.”
Yoo filed a second lawsuit in October 2020 and won a final ruling from the Supreme Court of Korea in November 2023, but the Consulate General in Los Angeles again denied the visa application in June 2024. Yoo filed a third lawsuit in September of that same year.
The first-instance court ruled in Yoo’s favor, saying, “Compared with the public interest served by denying the visa, the disadvantages suffered by the plaintiff are excessively great, making the decision an unlawful deviation from and abuse of discretionary authority in violation of the principle of proportionality.” The appellate panel also upheld the lower court’s ruling.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter