Yoo Seung-jun, barred from Korea for 24 years, says he hopes to meet fans again after latest court win

Singer Yoo Seung-jun (49, known in the United States as Steve Seung-jun Yoo), who has been barred from entering South Korea for 24 years over a military service evasion controversy, said he hopes to one day meet his fans again — a week after winning an appeals court ruling in his latest visa denial lawsuit.

On Friday, Yoo posted on Instagram: "Twenty-four years have already passed. I am now a father of four, and I am approaching 50." He added that there are still people who remember him, wait for him and cheer him on.

"When I think of their hearts, I am moved to tears — out of gratitude and out of guilt," he wrote. "I wanted to tell you in person: thank you, and I am so sorry for causing you pain."

He also reflected on how his motivations have changed over the years. "When I was young, I wanted to reclaim my former popularity and glory — of course I did," he wrote. "But as time passed, what I hold dear, and the reason I want to see you again, have changed."

"There was a time when I thought I had lost everything," he said, adding that through hardship he found the unwavering love of his family and the hope to live another day.

"I always carry a heavy heart, knowing I hurt you and fell short of your love and expectations," he wrote. "I don't know when or in what form it will happen. But I still look forward to the day I can meet you all again."

Earlier, in June, Yoo posted a video to his YouTube channel titled "I've done enough. I'm going to stop now," in which he said that returning to Korea no longer held much meaning for him.

The Instagram post came a week after he prevailed in the appeals court in his third visa lawsuit.

The Seoul High Court's Administrative Division 8-2 ruled Saturday in favor of Yoo in his appeal against the consul general of the South Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles over the refusal to issue him a visa, upholding the lower court's ruling.

The first-instance court ruled last year that given the more than 20 years Yoo had been barred from entry, the harm he suffered from the visa denial far outweighed any public interest served by it, finding the refusal violated the principle of proportionality.

Yoo debuted in 1997. In January 2002, while under a notice to report for public service duty, he obtained permission to travel abroad citing a performance engagement. That same month, he acquired US citizenship, losing his Korean nationality and with it his military obligation.

In response, the Ministry of Justice banned him from entering the country under the Immigration Act, citing grounds that there was reason to believe he could engage in conduct harmful to South Korea's national interests or public safety.

Yoo began his legal battle in 2015 after being denied an overseas Korean (F-4) visa, and won final rulings in his favor at the Supreme Court in March 2020 and November 2023. Each time, however, the LA consulate general refused to issue the visa again on different grounds. After a third refusal in June 2024, Yoo filed a third lawsuit in September of that year.

The latest ruling does not mean Yoo can immediately set foot in South Korea. The consulate general could again deny the visa citing new reasons, and even if a visa is issued, the Ministry of Justice could uphold the entry ban it imposed in 2002, barring him at the airport.