Singer Yoo Seung-jun (48, American name Steve Yoo), who won a lawsuit to cancel the visa issuance refusal, shared his thoughts.
On the 31st of last month, Yoo posted a video titled "Yoo Seung-jun life talk" on his YouTube channel and said, "My greatest blessing is having a loving wife and family," adding, "In that sense, even when there were heart-wrenching moments, my heart was always abundant and grateful."
He continued, "How wonderful it would be if we could learn about life without mistakes and regrets. Life is about slowly realizing things, especially as wrinkles develop and gray hairs appear. No one is an exception," and noted, "It is only after losing something that I realize its value, so I am truly a foolish person."
He remarked, "Everyone has their own perspective in life. In the past, I lived confidently and judged others, but I found that many were better than me. Now, I do not judge anyone," adding, "I critically judged and criticized others with my own sense of judgment and standards. But looking back, I don't know anything about that person's life. I realize how ignorant I am."
Earlier, on the 28th of last month, the 5th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Director General Lee Jeong-won) ruled in favor of Yoo in a lawsuit against the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles regarding the cancellation of the visa issuance refusal.
The court stated, "Yoo's words and actions do not clearly pose a risk to the interests of national security, public order, or diplomatic relations of Korea," adding, "The degree of the disadvantage Yoo would suffer is greater than the public interest gained by banning his entry, violating the principle of proportionality."
However, it added, "This ruling does not recognize that Yoo's past actions were appropriate."
Yoo openly declared his intention to enlist while actively performing as a singer in Korea. After receiving a notice for public service personnel duty, he left the country in January 2002 for an overseas performance but abruptly acquired U.S. citizenship, triggering a controversy over evading military service, and the Ministry of Justice decided to ban his entry.
At 38 years old, in August 2015, Yoo tried to enter Korea through an Overseas Korean (F-4) visa, but when the Los Angeles consulate refused to issue the visa, he filed his first lawsuit. He lost in both the first and second trials but eventually obtained a favorable ruling after the Supreme Court's remand.
However, when the Los Angeles consulate also denied his second visa application, Yoo filed a second lawsuit, which the Supreme Court also ruled in his favor. Nevertheless, as the Los Angeles consulate refused to issue the visa again, Yoo filed a third lawsuit.