Singer Yoo Seung-jun has finally spoken out regarding the hate comments directed at him.
On the 13th, Yoo Seung-jun uploaded a video to his personal channel titled, “Do you still believe I swore? | Yoo Seung-jun finally opens up. A quiet story from Yoo Seung-jun. I have just one thing to say to those who are still cursing at me.”
With tears in his eyes, he pleaded, “Please stop the hate comments. I’m not mentally weak, but who wouldn’t be hurt by hate? No matter the situation or the criticism, telling someone to die out of malice is wrong. Celebrities are sensitive to these things. We are human too. I can’t sleep at night; I wake up suddenly. It’s hard when people misunderstand and say those things. We are all the same.”
Wearing reading glasses, Yoo Seung-jun then addressed the past broadcast where swearing was heard. He claimed, “That wasn’t my voice. It was the voice of the PD who was broadcasting with me. The broadcast was being transmitted from Korea while I was on the phone in Beijing, China. They took the Korean PD’s voice and claimed it was mine. They turned something that wasn’t a controversy into one to make it seem like I swore.”
He continued, “I’m not appealing to your emotions; this is a fact. Some comments ask, ‘Who is being fooled this time?’ but talking about this doesn’t hold much meaning for me anymore. If you misunderstand, I’ll just live with it. Some celebrities die because of things that aren’t true. It broke my heart when my colleagues went through that. I’m grateful for the person ‘Yoo Seung-jun’ that you all created, but I became famous for the wrong reasons. Living a famous life is exhausting. But since things have turned out this way, I will find the strength to get back up.”
Yoo Seung-jun debuted in 1997 with ‘Scissors’ and received immense love as a “beautiful youth” with hit songs like ‘Nanana’ and ‘Passion.’ However, in 2002, just before his military enlistment, he left for the United States claiming he would return after an overseas performance, but instead renounced his Korean nationality and acquired U.S. citizenship. Consequently, the Ministry of Justice classified him as a person banned from entering the country.
Later, in 2015, Yoo Seung-jun applied for an Overseas Korean visa (F-4), but the Consulate General in Los Angeles rejected it. This led him to file a lawsuit to cancel the visa issuance refusal. He also held a broadcast from Hong Kong via AfreecaTV to share his feelings. During the broadcast, he knelt and cried, claiming that his citizenship acquisition was not a planned attempt to evade military service but the result of earnest persuasion from his family. He expressed a desire to find a way back into Korea, even suggesting he would enlist if given the chance.
In response, the Military Manpower Administration stated that Yoo Seung-jun had never once inquired about re-performing his military service. The Ministry of Justice also clarified that he had not contacted the immigration office or the ministry’s spokesperson and that they were not considering lifting the entry ban or restoring his nationality.
Yoo Seung-jun later held a second internet broadcast. After the stream ended, the microphone remained on, and the audience heard staff members badmouthing him. Specifically, the use of swear words like “XX” and “XX XXX” caused a huge controversy. Although the PD in charge later explained that the swearing was not directed at the viewers nor spoken by Yoo Seung-jun, public sentiment worsened significantly.
Since then, Yoo Seung-jun has won two administrative lawsuits, with cases going as far as the Supreme Court. Despite this, the Consulate General in LA continues to refuse his visa, and the Ministry of Justice has not lifted the entry ban. As a result, Yoo Seung-jun is currently pursuing a third administrative lawsuit.
