Yu Seung-jun (Steve Seung-jun Yu, 48) filed a lawsuit against the South Korean government, requesting the cancellation of the visa denial and the invalidation of the entry ban, and the court ruled that "the visa denial must be canceled." Yu Seung-jun has filed three lawsuits against the LA Consulate General and one against the Ministry of Justice since 2015 regarding the visa issuance and entry issues.
According to the legal community on the 28th, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 5 (Director General Lee Jeong-won) ruled in favor of Yu Seung-jun in his lawsuit against the LA Consulate General seeking to cancel the visa denial.
However, the lawsuit filed by Yu Seung-jun against the Ministry of Justice seeking to confirm the nonexistence of the entry ban was dismissed. This was based on the reason that whether to nullify the entry ban is not subject to the court's judgment.
The ruling announced that day is a first-instance ruling, and if Yu Seung-jun or the LA Consulate General disagrees with the outcome, they can go through second and third-instance rulings.
The court stated, "The defendant (LA Consulate General) claimed that if a visa were issued to the plaintiff (Yu Seung-jun), it could harm the national interests of the Republic of Korea regarding safety, order, and diplomatic relations" and added, "However, the defendant's claims alone are insufficient to acknowledge the reasons for the visa denial." It continued, "Therefore, the defendant's decision to deny the plaintiff a visa must be canceled as an abuse of discretion without justifiable reasons."
However, the court added, "Just because the court made a ruling in favor of the plaintiff today does not mean that the court views the plaintiff's past (military service evasion) actions as acceptable."
Yu Seung-jun evaded military service by obtaining U.S. citizenship after stating in 2002 that he would return home after completing an overseas performance and subsequently renouncing his South Korean nationality. In response, the Ministry of Justice imposed entry restrictions on Yu Seung-jun.
In August 2015, at the age of 38, Yu applied for a visa from the LA Consulate General under the Overseas Korean (F-4) residency qualification. According to the old Overseas Korean Act, even if one lost their nationality for the purpose of evading military service, residency qualification as an overseas Korean could be granted upon reaching the age of 38.
The LA Consulate General denied the visa issuance, and Yu filed his first lawsuit requesting cancellation.
After the remand trial and retrial, the Supreme Court ruled in Yu's favor; however, despite the Supreme Court's ruling, the LA Consulate General once again denied issuance, stating, "Yu's evasion of military duty poses a concern for national interests."
In response, Yu filed a second lawsuit in October 2020 and won a final ruling from the Supreme Court in November 2023. However, the LA Consulate General denied the visa issuance again in June of last year, and Yu filed a third lawsuit in September of the same year.
Previously, the LA Consulate General argued that "Yu's evasion of military service is an act that poses a concern for the interests of the Republic of Korea" and stated, "There are possibilities of social conflict, such as decreased morale among military personnel due to military service evasion and the spread of the evasion trend."