Yoo Seung-jun's 'Visa to Korea' Lawsuit Ultimately to Be Decided by Supreme Court

Yoo Seung-jun, Loses First Trial → Wins Second Trial
Government Appeals Against Second Trial's Decision to Grant Residency Status

Singer Yoo Seung-jun (46, Steve Seung-jun Yoo), who requested a visa to enter Korea, will have his second administrative lawsuit reviewed by the Supreme Court.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Consulate General in Los Angeles (LA) filed an appeal against the Seoul High Court Administrative Division 9-3 (Presiding Judges Jo Chan-young, Kim Mu-shin, Kim Seung-joo), which ruled in favor of Yoo in the appellate trial of the lawsuit to cancel the refusal of Yoo's Korean entry visa issuance.

Previously, Yoo acquired U.S. citizenship to avoid military service obligations, resulting in restrictions on his entry to Korea in 2002. Yoo attempted to enter Korea with an Overseas Korean (F-4) visa, but after being denied issuance, he filed an administrative lawsuit in 2015 and won a final ruling at the Supreme Court in 2020.

However, even after the Supreme Court ruling, the LA Consulate General again refused Yoo's visa application. The disposition letter explained, "According to Article 5, Paragraph 2, Subparagraph 2 of the Overseas Koreans Act, the grounds for exclusion from granting overseas Korean residency status include cases where there is a concern of harming the interests of the Republic of Korea, such as national security, maintenance of order, public welfare, and diplomatic relations." Ultimately, Yoo filed another administrative lawsuit in October 2020.

In the first trial of this case, Yoo lost in April last year. The first trial court held that the Supreme Court's ruling only indicated that there was a procedural illegality in the visa issuance refusal, not that Yoo must be granted a visa. The court also stated, "Yoo's existence causes great loss and deprivation to the soldiers and families of the Republic of Korea who were mobilized in the front lines or difficult terrains, risking their lives and enduring much pain and danger."

Yoo won in the appellate trial. The second trial court acknowledged, "The court is aware that Yoo's evasion of military service caused widespread social conflict in 2002, and even after more than 20 years, there is a strong social voice that residency status should not be granted." However, it added, "The former Overseas Koreans Act can only be interpreted to grant residency status if the applicant is over a certain age (38 years old) and there are no separate acts or circumstances distinguishing the case, even if foreign nationality was acquired for the purpose of evading military service."

Under the former Overseas Koreans Act, the Minister of Justice does not grant residency status if there is a concern of harming the interests of the Republic of Korea, such as national security, maintenance of order, public welfare, and diplomatic relations. However, there is a proviso that exempts those who have reached the age of 38. In the 2017 amended provision, the age in the proviso was raised to 41.

The court stated, "The government applied the current Overseas Koreans Act provision, amended in 2017, when making this disposition. However, since it was decided that the former law should apply to those who applied for overseas Korean residency status before the amendment took effect, the current Overseas Koreans Act cannot be applied to Yoo's 2015 application."

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