Seungjun Yoo. Photo | YouTube video capture[매일경제 스타투데이 박세연 기자]
Amid controversy over’Yoo Seung-joon’ avoidance of military service’ for nearly 20 years, Military Manpower Administration Commissioner Mo Jong-hwa (US name Steve Yu, 45) emphasized that he is the only person who has obtained US citizenship while receiving a notice of enlistment.
Commissioner Mo attended a plenary meeting of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee on the 23rd, and asked for the position of the Ministry of Defense and the Military Manpower Administration regarding the recent assertion of the military service obligations Steve Yu is making through YouTube. “We are misleading the facts in order to form a favorable public opinion outside of the essence,” he said. “I didn’t feel the need to deal with every day, but I will tell you a few things in terms of fact check.”
“There are 3,000 to 4000 people who do not change their nationality a year, and 95% of them live in foreign countries and do not receive an application,” said Mo. “Steve Yu was active in Korea and obtained a for-profit and physical examination in Korea. He explained that he is the only person who has obtained US citizenship while receiving a notice of enlistment.”
Director Mo said, “It’s different from the other 3000~4000 people.
He said, “It is not right for him to talk about equity, the only deceptive way to avoid military service.”
Commissioner Mo also released the document, saying, “There is an overseas travel permit application that Steve Yu submitted when he left Korea.” “I wrote (the purpose of the trip) on the application form and made a promise with the Military Manpower Administration that I would go there until a few days and what time, but because I acquired US citizenship (violating this), I was a clear evader of military service. I just couldn’t punish.”
In addition, Director Mo corrected that “Steve Yu himself calls himself an exemption from military service, which is misleading the people,” and corrected that “the exemption is a person who received a 5th grade after physical examination at the Military Manpower Administration.”
Defense Minister Seo-wook also nailed Steve Yu as “a evader of military service who violated the Constitution.” Secretary Seo said, “Steve Yoo is a military evacuee who lost his nationality for the purpose of evacuating from military service. As a person who violated the Military Service Act and was obligated to serve in the military, he violated the constitution.
Meanwhile, after his debut in 1997, Steve Yoo rose to stardom with hit songs such as’Scissors’,’Passion’, and’Nana Na’.
However, prior to enlistment in 2002, entry was banned for evading military service by acquiring US citizenship. After a lengthy lawsuit, the Supreme Court won the final victory over the issuance of a visa to enter Korea in March last year. However, the Consulate of Los Angeles again refused to issue a visa for Steve Yu in July of that year, and in October he filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Consulate General to cancel the refusal of visa issuance to the Seoul Administrative Court.
After that, when Rep. Kim Byeong-ju proposed five bills to prevent evasion of military service through change of nationality (aka’Yoo Seung-jun Prevention Five Act’), he is clarifying the controversy surrounding him through YouTube.
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