"I Never Said I Was Joining the Military"... Yu Seung-jun's 'Self-Defense' Starts Again

Singer Yoo Seung-jun expressed his frustration over his military service evasion issue through his YouTube video. [Image source = Screenshot from Yoo Seung-jun's official YouTube channel video]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Singer Steve Yoo (Korean name Yoo Seung-jun), who is restricted from entering South Korea due to evading military service, once again appealed his grievances through a YouTube video. In response to Yoo's repeated self-defense, netizens have even filed a national petition demanding punishment for his defamation of the nation.

On the 29th, Yoo uploaded a video titled "Now I Can Speak. Devil's Editing, All the Doubts Surrounding the Initial Military Enlistment Rumor and Citizenship Acquisition" on his YouTube channel.

In the approximately 30-minute video, he said, "When I was about to take the elevator in the apartment where I used to live, an entertainment reporter from magazine A suddenly appeared from a pillar," adding, "The reporter greeted me with 'Hello, Seung-jun,' so I replied 'Hello,' and then the reporter asked, 'Hey Seung-jun, now that you are over twenty, you should go to the military,' to which I replied without much thought, 'Yes, I should go when I reach the age.'"

He continued, "At that time, I was a U.S. permanent resident, so I didn't think deeply about the military. But the next day, an article came out saying 'Yoo Seung-jun gave up his U.S. permanent residency and decided to enlist.' I regret not holding a press conference then to say, 'I have not yet made a definite decision about enlisting, nor have I decided to give up my permanent residency.'"

He added, "No matter how positively I try to view reporter A, how could anyone publish such uncertain information (as an article) without being commissioned or requested by someone? Until the reporter's intentional false report came out, I thought military enlistment did not really apply to me," expressing his frustration.

Yoo's video currently has about 30,000 views and over 3,000 comments. Netizens' reactions were mixed. While most comments were like "Another excuse? Are you playing with the public now?" and "Don't pretend to be a victim," there was also a supportive atmosphere with comments such as "It's unfortunate" and "Stay strong."

Singer Yoo Seung-jun (American name Steve Seung-jun Yoo) strongly opposed the 'Yoo Seung-jun Prevention Act,' saying "Am I a public enemy?" in a video he uploaded to his personal YouTube channel on the 19th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Yoo has voiced his opinion through YouTube. In December last year, he began his self-defense by releasing a video titled "'The Five Bills to Completely Prevent Yoo Seung-jun'? Are you kidding, Representative Kim Byung-joo?" where he vented his anger.

At that time, Yoo said, "I am exempt from military service, not evading it. Ministers like Choo Mi-ae and former Minister Cho Kuk are making young people even more disheartened," expressing anger at Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byung-joo, a former army general, who proposed the so-called 'Yoo Seung-jun Five Bills' to prevent evasion of military service through nationality changes.

On the 9th of last month, Yoo stated, "Even though there was no illegal act, the Ministry of Justice should apologize and take responsibility for brutally violating and infringing on one person's human rights for 19 long years," adding, "According to Military Manpower Administration data, an average of 3,600 to 4,000 people renounce their nationality annually," but "I am the only person in South Korean history who was banned from entering the country because acquiring U.S. citizenship was considered an act of evading military service."

[Image source = Cheongwadae National Petition Board]

However, contrary to Yoo's hopes, netizens' reactions were cold. As his remarks became a hot topic day after day, a petition was posted on the Blue House national petition board demanding punishment for Yoo for defamation, stating, "He crossed a line that should not be crossed and made me feel ashamed as a citizen."

The petitioner posted a petition titled "Please punish Steve Yoo (Yoo Seung-jun) for national defamation" on the 8th, saying, "He mentioned incidents such as the U.S. armored vehicle incident and the Sewol ferry disaster without fully understanding the pain of the Korean people. As a Korean citizen, I felt ashamed," and "It is no exaggeration to say that Yoo is earning foreign currency at the expense of South Korea. I sincerely ask for strict punishment and sanctions against Yoo."

Currently, the petition has 13,064 supporters.

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