"Ban Yoo Seung-jun on YouTube" Daily Criticism of South Korea... Citizens' 'Frustration' [Han Seung-gon's Incident Notebook]

Steve Seungjun Yoo Denied Entry to Korea... Continuous Criticism of Korea
YouTube Views Surge -> Earnings Increase
Blue House Petition "Please Punish Steve Yoo for National Defamation"
Citizens "Criticism of Korea Has Gone Too Far" Boiling Over

YouTube channel operated by Steve Seungjun Yoo. He is actively refuting allegations of draft evasion. Photo by Yoo on his YouTube channel

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "I am not a draft dodger," "Do you keep all the promises you made for your entire life?", "Honestly, isn't it because of the 'emperor leave' granted to the son of Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and the absurd incidents involving former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk that young people are becoming even more angry and disillusioned as they witness the corruption and double standards of politicians handling national affairs?"

Singer Yoo Seung-jun (44, U.S. name Steve Seungjun Yoo) has been raising his voice about the political sphere and Korean society through his YouTube channel day after day, and meanwhile, a petition has been posted on the Blue House's national petition board requesting the blocking of Yoo's YouTube channel altogether.

Regarding allegations of draft evasion, Yoo has recently expressed his frustration with Korean politics and society through his YouTube channel. He strongly vents his grievances about being banned from entering Korea, asking, "What crime did I commit?"

Previously, Yoo had knelt and tearfully pleaded for entry, but on December 17 last year, when Kim Byung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, proposed the so-called 'Yoo Seung-jun Prevention 5 Acts,' Yoo exploded in anger, saying, "Does this bill make any sense? Are you kidding me? Don't politicians who work with Korean taxpayers' money have anything better to do?" and "Am I a political criminal? Or did I murder someone? Am I a sex offender?" He questioned, "What exactly is so scary that they are making such a fuss to block just one entertainer named Yoo Seung-jun?"

He also raised his voice in criticism by naming politicians. In his YouTube broadcasts, Yoo mentioned former Ministers of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Cho Kuk by name while criticizing the Ministry of Justice.

Steve Yoo, who sparked controversy over draft evasion, is venting his frustration through his YouTube channel. Photo by Steve Yoo

On YouTube, Yoo said, "It is unreasonable that I make young people feel disillusioned," and pointed out, "Honestly, because of the 'emperor leave' granted to Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae's son and the absurd incidents involving former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, young people are becoming even more angry and disillusioned as they witness the corruption and double standards of politicians handling national affairs."

He also claimed that the Moon Jae-in administration was lowering military morale. Yoo said, "My entry was denied because there was concern it would lower military morale," and added, "Why does the military exist? Aren't we at war with North Korea right now? Isn't our enemy North Korea? Isn't our enemy the North Korean Communist Party?" referring to the divided state of the Republic of Korea.

In August 2001, Yoo Seung-jun expressing his opinion during a physical examination. Photo by Netv. TV Entertainment Capture

Meanwhile, concerns have been raised that Yoo's continuous criticism of Korean society through YouTube could have a socially negative impact.

On the 8th, a petition titled "Please punish Steve Yoo (Yoo Seung-jun) for national defamation" was posted on the Blue House's national petition board.

The petitioner said, "When Yoo expressed his will to enter the country and remorse through his SNS (social media) or personal broadcasts, I sometimes even felt sympathy," but pointed out, "However, he is crossing the line and criticizing the Republic of Korea."

The petitioner continued, "He mentioned incidents such as the U.S. military armored vehicle accident and the Sewol ferry disaster, which are painful for Korean citizens, without fully understanding them," expressing outrage, "As a Korean citizen, I felt ashamed."

Yoo Seung-jun / Photo by Yoo Seung-jun, YouTube video capture

They added, "I am concerned that his political, religious, government, and social criticism content might confuse the public and cause a loss of trust in the country," and said, "Anyone who is a citizen of the Republic of Korea would be angry at him criticizing the country after calling Korean citizens dogs and pigs."

Furthermore, they said, "It is no exaggeration to say that Yoo is earning foreign currency through content that is not beneficial to the Republic of Korea," and requested, "Please impose sanctions on his YouTube channel so that he cannot upload content that defames the country and causes confusion among the public sentiment."

Related citizens expressed outrage. Kim, a company employee in his 40s with two elementary school children, pointed out, "It is not good for growing adolescents that a popular entertainer suspected of draft evasion criticizes Korean society like this every day."

Another office worker in his 30s, Park, criticized, "I think the term 'draft evasion' might come up among young people in their 20s who are about to enlist. Especially making such claims through YouTube videos is not appropriate."

Singer Yoo Seung-jun's video thumbnail, announced on the 31st of last month ahead of a live broadcast on his YouTube channel. A thumbnail refers to an image released in advance before video playback. Photo by singer Yoo Seung-jun's Instagram

Meanwhile, Yoo's YouTube channel, which he operates, is reportedly seeing increases in views and revenue since the time he began expressing anger toward the government.

According to the YouTube statistics site 'NoxInfluencer,' as of December 19 last year, Yoo Seung-jun's YouTube subscriber count was about 29,000 in November of the previous year. However, after posting videos expressing anger about the so-called 'Yoo Seung-jun Prevention Act,' his channel's subscriber count reached 70,000. As of January 11, the subscriber count was 80,000.

Also, video views surged. Compared to the previous highest view count of about 180,000 for uploaded videos, the relevant video reached 1.8 million views, a difference of more than tenfold.

Moreover, although there may be differences between the statistics site results and actual revenue calculations, YouTube earnings appear to have surged. Previously, Yoo Seung-jun's channel income was only about 10,000 KRW per day on average.

However, after the video was released on the 19th of last month, the estimated earnings on the 20th ranged from 1,505,600 KRW to 4,662,000 KRW, and on the 21st from 1,468,000 KRW to 4,543,800 KRW. Another analysis site, 'Social Blade,' also estimated Yoo Seung-jun's YouTube channel earnings on the 20th of last month to be between $298 (about 330,660 KRW) and $4,800 (about 5,325,120 KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.