6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Why do Koreans hold decadeslong grudge against former-star Steve Yoo?
Fans plead for leniency for Korean-American singer, blocked from Korea since 2002 draft dodging
A local fan base supporting Steve Yoo, better known by his Korean name Yoo Seung-joon, released a statement Tuesday urging President Lee Jae Myung to grant a Liberation Day special pardon for the Korean-American singer.
Yoo, 48, has been banned from entering South Korea since 2002 after he dodged military conscription by renouncing his Korean nationality for US citizenship.
"We're not saying (Yoo) is not at fault, but that he has sufficiently shouldered social responsibility as a result. He should be given a new opportunity to live in Korean society," Yoo's fans said in the online statement.
The president's office has not responded to the request, and Yoo is not eligible for a special pardon under the Amnesty Act. Article 5 states that a special pardon applies only to legal punishments. Yoo's entry ban is a visa matter under sovereign discretion involving a foreign national, not the result of a criminal sentence.
The entry ban is an administrative decision made by the Ministry of Justice.
Yoo was a superstar in the local music scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s, one of the biggest names of the pop genre that was the prototype for the internationally beloved K-pop of today. But the nationwide scandal in January of 2002 forever tarnished his legacy, making him a symbol of draft-dodging controversy in South Korea.
From beloved star to infamous draft dodger
Many Korean pop stars hold foreign citizenship, but none have faced the level of public anger that Yoo has. The backlash stems from his actions and words leading up to his evasion of the draft in 2002, before which he had repeatedly said he would gladly serve his mandatory military duties.
South Korea requires all able-bodied men to serve at least 18 months in the military, with alternate forms of service available for those unable to carry out combat duties. Graded for non-combat service, Yoo was expected to serve as social service personnel for 2 years and six months.
As a conscript candidate, he won the government permission to leave the country just before he was to commence his service in late 2001. However, in early 2002, he renounced his Korean citizenship and began the process to gain US citizenship. He cited that the service would mean a lengthy departure from his family in the US, and that his career as a dancer and singer would be cut short.
The public, feeling betrayed by a beloved star who was ranked by Gallup Korea as the country's third most-liked male singer in 1998, responded with outrage. Later in 2002, the Justice Ministry imposed an indefinite entry ban on him.
Public opposition to lifting the ban remains strong: a 2023 poll by local outlet News Tomato showed that 75.15 percent of respondents were still against his return to South Korea.
Yoo tries to return, but legal complications remain
Yoo is currently undergoing a yearslong legal battle to reverse the decision by the Justice Ministry, with the Seoul Administrative Court slated to reach a ruling on the third court proceedings on the case on Aug. 28.
Yoo has claimed that the South Korean government's refusal to issue a visa for him is against the law, saying that one violating the Military Service Act should not lead to a permanent entry ban.
He pointed at the case of soccer player Suk Hyun-jun, whose draft dodging led to his suspended prison term but not an entry ban.
In 2015 and 2020, Yoo filed for a trial against the South Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles that had refused to issue him a visa. A 2019 Supreme Court ruling on the 2015 case sent the case back to the Seoul High Court, which ruled in favor of Yoo and said the LA consulate did not have the authority to refuse a visa.
The 2020 case was once again won by Yoo, with the court ruling that there were no legal grounds to deny a visa.
Those who revoked South Korean citizenship to dodge military duties can be refused entry into the country for up to five years. Based on this ruling, Yoo claims that he is now eligible to be issued a visa.
But the ruling concerned the LA consulate's refusal to review Yoo's case, not the Justice Ministry's decision to issue the initial ban based on the Immigration Act in 2002.
Draft dodging itself is not a crime that warrants a permanent entry ban, but the ministry's basis for slapping the ban was Article 11, subsection 1-3 of the Immigration Act, which says: "A person deemed highly likely to engage in any conduct harming the interests or public security of South Korea can be prohibited from entering the country.'
Application of this article to a draft dodger is not common. But due to Yoo's considerable influence and popularity with the public, government officials have cited that a beloved celebrity flagrantly trying to avoid military duties can have significant detrimental effects on young Koreans.
The ongoing trial is against both the Justice Ministry and the LA consulate, and Yoo has requested the court confirm that the entry ban should be nullified. The aforementioned ruling in favor of Yoo covered the administrative process of the visa rejection, not the validity of the ministry's initial decision.
Ministry has maintained that imposing an entry ban is the right of a Justice Minister, and letting Yoo back into the country could stir controversy and cause confusion.
President Lee, some 10 years ago, when he was serving as the mayor of Seongnam city in Gyeonggi Province, made some comments about the case. He said online that Yoo should "forget about Korea that you betrayed and abandoned, and be loyal to your country."
