Yoo Seung-jun, barred from Korea for 24 years, says 'I'm a happy person' ahead of visa ruling

Singer Yoo Seung-jun, who has been barred from entering South Korea for 24 years over a military service evasion controversy, shared a reflective message on social media ahead of next month's court ruling on his latest visa lawsuit, saying "I'm a happy person."

Yoo posted a photo of himself on his social media account Sunday (Korean Standard Time), writing: "Worth risking it all for …."

He added: "It would be a lie to say I have no regrets in life. But having precious values and people by my side that I would not trade for anything in this world — that alone makes me a truly happy person." The post reflected on both his past and present.

In the photo, Yoo is seated in a vehicle, smiling at the camera. The post appeared to express his gratitude for his family and contentment with his current life.

He set Bruno Mars' "Risk It All" as the background music for the post.

Yoo has been banned from entering South Korea since 2002 over his decision to avoid mandatory military service. He married in the United States in 2004 and lives there with four children — two sons and twin daughters. Since 2015, he has been pursuing legal action against the South Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles to obtain a visa.

Meanwhile, the Seoul High Court is scheduled to deliver its appeals ruling in Yoo's third visa lawsuit on Oct. 2.

The court's Administrative Division 8-2 had initially set Sept. 4 as the ruling date in Yoo's appeal against the consul general in Los Angeles over the refusal to issue him a visa, but postponed it to Oct. 2 just one day before the originally scheduled date.

Yoo had previously won two Supreme Court victories in related administrative litigation.

Despite those wins, the consulate again refused to issue him a visa in June 2024, concluding that granting Yoo an overseas Korean F-4 visa could send the wrong social message regarding military service obligations.

Yoo filed his third administrative lawsuit in September of that year, and a first-instance court ruled in his favor in August last year. The court found that the disadvantage imposed on Yoo was disproportionately large compared with the public interest served by denying the visa, ruling that the refusal constituted an abuse of discretionary authority in violation of the principle of proportionality. The court clarified, however, that its ruling did not amount to an endorsement of Yoo's past conduct.