[Captured from Yoo Seung-jun's Instagram]
[Captured from Yoo Seung-jun's Instagram]

Yoo Seung-jun (49), also known as Steve Yoo, who has been barred from entering South Korea for more than two decades over a military service evasion controversy, has shared a photo with his two sons.

Yoo posted the image on Instagram on Sunday, writing "Thank you for this beautiful day" and adding the hashtag "family." He also wrote, "808 vibes, with beautiful people." 808 is the area code for Hawaii.

The photo shows Yoo posing shirtless alongside his two sons.

Yoo tagged his eldest son Riley and second son Rowan in the post, along with the accounts of several acquaintances.

He also wrote, "Thank you for another beautiful day."

Yoo was a highly active singer in South Korea in the mid-to-late 1990s, but in January 2002 he abruptly left for the United States, renounced his Korean citizenship and obtained American citizenship, which exempted him from military service. The government subsequently banned him from entering the country in February of that year under the Immigration Control Act.

Since then, Yoo has been living in the United States with his wife and four children — two sons and twin daughters.

In an effort to return to South Korea, he has been pursuing legal action against the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles since 2015, seeking the issuance of a Korean visa.

However, the consulate general in Los Angeles has continued to deny his visa application, citing concerns that "Yoo's evasion of military duty poses a risk of harming the national interest."


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com