Singer Yu Seung-jun (U.S. name Steve Seung Jun Yoo, 49) will begin the appellate trial in July in the third administrative lawsuit he filed over the denial of a visa. Although Yu received final Supreme Court rulings in his favor in the first two lawsuits, the legal battle continues as the government again denied his visa.
According to legal sources on the 20th, the Administrative Division 8-2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Bong-won) will hold the first appellate hearing at 11:20 a.m. on Jul. 3 in Yu's suit seeking to cancel the refusal to issue a visa by the Consulate General in Los Angeles (LA).
In 2002, while under a call-up notice for public service personnel, Yu left the country citing an overseas performance and then obtained U.S. citizenship, becoming embroiled in controversy over draft evasion. The Ministry of Justice subsequently imposed a ban on entry, and Yu attempted to enter Korea with an overseas Korean (F-4) visa, but the LA Consulate General refused to issue the visa, triggering a legal dispute.
In the first lawsuit, Yu lost in the first and second trials, but the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's decision and remanded the case, and he won on remand. The ruling was finalized when the Supreme Court dismissed the re-appeal without a hearing.
Based on that, Yu applied for a visa again, but when the LA Consulate General again refused to issue it, he filed a second lawsuit. In that case as well, he lost at first instance, but the appellate court found problems with the basis for the consulate general's disposition and ruled in Yu's favor, and the Supreme Court affirmed.
However, citing the 2002 Ministry of Justice decision and other grounds, the LA Consulate General again refused to issue a visa in June last year. Yu filed a third administrative lawsuit in September the same year, and he won at first instance on Aug. last year.
The first-instance court found that the disadvantage to Yu outweighed the public interest that could be achieved by refusing to issue the visa. It also viewed that, unlike other cases of draft evasion, effectively maintaining a permanent entry ban only on Yu violated the principles of proportionality and equality.
The court said, "It is hard to see Yu's existence or activities as likely to harm Korea's national security, maintenance of order, public welfare, diplomatic relations, or other national interests," adding, "The third refusal to issue a visa is unlawful for deviating from and abusing discretion."
However, the court added, "This does not mean Yu's past conduct was appropriate," while stating, "Banning entry for an indefinite, lengthy period and refusing to issue a visa violates the principle of proportionality."
The LA Consulate General appealed, and the third legal dispute moved to the appellate level.