Draft-dodging singer Yoo loses visa suit
Steve Yoo
By Kim Rahn
Steve Yoo, a Korean-born American singer better known as Yoo Seung-jun here, has lost a suit in which he demanded the Korean immigration authorities grant him entry to Korea.
The Seoul Administrative Court ruled Friday against Yoo, 40, who had been denied a visa to enter Korea for evading compulsory military service 14 years ago.
He obtained American citizenship in January 2002 in an attempt to avoid conscription, causing a huge stir here. The Korean government banned him from entering the country or regaining Korean nationality, and Yoo filed the suit against the consulate general in Los Angeles in October last year. At that time he demanded an F-4 visa, issued to people of Korean descent.
“Despite his fame and influence as an entertainer, he changed his position to fulfill his military duty but then obtained U.S. citizenship to avoid it,” the court said. “If he enters Korea and continues to work here, it would damage those carrying out their military duty, disturbing public order.”
Yoo claimed he gained U.S. citizenship not to avoid military service but for other reasons such as financial benefits.