Korean American singer wins appeal in 3rd lawsuit over visa denial

A court of appeals on Friday upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of Steve Yoo, a Korean American singer, in his third lawsuit seeking to overturn the Korean government's decision to deny him an entry visa after he renounced his Korean citizenship, allegedly to evade mandatory military service. The Seoul High Court ruled that the decision by the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles to deny Yoo an entry visa must be revoked, upholding a ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court in August last year. The high court did not provide a specific explanation for its ruling. The case is an appeal of Yoo's third lawsuit against the LA consulate general after it denied his visa application. Yoo, 48, also known by his Korean name Yoo Seung-jun, has been barred from entering Korea after he became a U.S. citizen and renounced his Korean citizenship in 2002, with the alleged goal of dodging his military duty. Yoo first filed a lawsuit in 2015 after the LA consulate general refused to issue him a visa. In 2020, Yoo won a Supreme Court ruling that the visa refusal was procedurally flawed. After the to