Steve Yoo signals music return despite entry ban, past denials of profit motive

Steve Yoo, left, works with rapper JUSTHIS. Captured from Steve Yoo's YouTube channel

Steve Yoo, also known as Yoo Seung-jun, a Korean American singer, rapper and actor who has been banned from entering South Korea for more than two decades due to draft evasion allegations, has teased a new music release in collaboration with rapper JUSTHIS.

The move has drawn attention as Yoo previously asserted that he had “absolutely no intention of making money in Korea.” Attention is now focused on whether this release signals an attempt to resume activities in Korea.

On Monday, Yoo posted a video on his YouTube channel showing him working in a studio with JUSTHIS. He added the caption, “HOME HOME (YSJ Version) unreleased. YSJ X JUSTHIS M/V coming soon!!”

Last November, Yoo featured on the track “Home Home” from JUSTHIS’ full-length album “LIT.” His announcement of a “Yoo Seung-jun version” of the song has fueled speculation about a potential comeback in the K-pop scene.

Yoo became the center of a major controversy in 2002. Just before his scheduled military conscription, he traveled to the United States for performances and later acquired U.S. citizenship, renouncing his Korean nationality. The Ministry of Justice imposed an entry ban on him that same year. Aside from a brief visit in 2003 to attend his father-in-law’s funeral, he has been barred from entering Korea for more than two decades.

The singer has engaged in a prolonged legal battle to return. He applied for an overseas Korean (F-4) visa in 2015 but was rejected. He filed a lawsuit and eventually won a Supreme Court ruling. However, the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles refused his visa issuance again, leading to a second lawsuit, which Yoo also won at the Supreme Court.

Despite these rulings, the LA consulate denied his visa application for a third time. In response, Yoo has filed a third lawsuit against the consulate and South Korea’s justice minister.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.