South Korean lawmaker Jin Sung-joon said Wednesday, October 28, 2026, that his U.S. visa application had been rejected before a planned trip to the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii. The visa rejection disrupted a bipartisan National Assembly delegation's planned Nov. 1–5 visit. Seoul says the application process may still be open.
Jin chairs the National Assembly's National Defense Committee and had planned to lead a four-member group. The delegation was to discuss the alliance and bilateral security cooperation.
The other members were Democratic Party vice chair Kim Byung-joo, People Power Party vice chair Lim Jong-deuk and Reform Party lawmaker Chun Ha-ram. Their visit remains unsettled.
“I express strong regret over the U.S. rejection of a visa for the chair of the parliamentary defense committee of the Republic of Korea,” Jin wrote in a Facebook post. He said meetings with senior U.S. military leaders had been scheduled.
The committee had lined up meetings with five military commands
The agenda extended beyond the command's headquarters in Hawaii. It included senior officers from five military organizations.
| Planned meeting | Scheduled participant |
|---|---|
| Pacific Command | Adm. Samuel Paparo, U.S. Pacific Commander |
| Pacific Fleet | Commander |
| Pacific Air Forces | Commander |
| U.S. Army Pacific | Deputy commanding general |
| U.S. Space Forces – Indo-Pacific | Deputy commander |
Jin said he had visited the command in March 2014 as a member of the National Assembly committee. He described the new refusal as difficult to understand in light of that earlier trip.
In a separate statement, he said the decision went beyond one person's travel. “The U.S. refusal to issue a visa to the committee chair wasn't just a mere restriction on one individual's entry into the country, but an obstruction of the official legislative activities of the National Assembly, which represents the Korean people,” he said.
Washington has not publicly explained the decision
Jin said he submitted his application on October 12. The Department of State did not address his individual case publicly, saying its visa decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and that it generally does not discuss specific applications.
The South Korean foreign ministry said it was consulting with U.S. officials and that the application process appeared to remain underway. It also said it could not confirm details of individual visa applications. The reported refusal has no publicly stated case-specific reason.
Jin's past conviction has drawn attention. In 1991, he received a three-year prison sentence and a three-year suspension of qualifications for violating South Korea's National Security Act.
U.S. authorities requested documents about that conviction, Jin said. He plans to provide English translations of court rulings. His application remains a separate matter from the wider diplomatic debate.
Jung Chung-rae's unresolved application changed his audit itinerary
The latest case follows a visa delay involving Jung Chung-rae, a former Democratic Party chairman and member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. His application remained under review before a planned audit of South Korean diplomatic missions in the Americas.
Jung could not attend the audit on Sept. 27 and switched to the committee's Europe audit team. He had no decision before his planned departure. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he raised concerns with the acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea on Oct. 8.
Jung called for a bipartisan approach during a parliamentary audit. “This is something both ruling and opposition lawmakers should raise with the U.S. in a bipartisan manner,” he said.
Lawmakers split between protest calls and caution
Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Tae-nyeon, a five-term member, said the United States should respect South Korea's National Assembly and called for a convincing explanation and corrective action. Other ruling-party members discussed a protest, with some asking whether the foreign ministry should summon the U.S. ambassador.
A senior Democratic Party lawmaker said lawmakers performing official duties had not previously faced visa refusals, and questioned whether the decision amounted to censorship of their activities. Another lawmaker asked whether the National Assembly should protest. A two-term party member, however, warned that a legislative response could escalate into a diplomatic dispute.
Hong Ki-won, a Democratic Party lawmaker and former diplomat, also urged restraint. “Linking this to South Korea·U.S. relations is nonsense,” he said, arguing that visa decisions are individual and that U.S. policy had become stricter.
The opposition criticized Jin from a different direction. People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Choong-kwon said his party regretted that prominent South Korean politicians or officials were not receiving visas. He cited Jung's planned visit to audit the U.S. Embassy and said Jin's case suggested lawmakers with anti-American histories were becoming targets.
Park also pointed to Jung's involvement in the U.S. Cultural Center arson case. He said Jin organized the “Volunteer Corps” during military service and had not apologized or changed his position advocating the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Those were Park's criticisms of Jin.
People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Seong-hoon blamed the Democratic Party and the Lee Jae Myung administration for what he called a distorted security perspective. He criticized Jin's expression of regret and urged him to reflect on his past actions.
Lee Byong-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, offered another interpretation. He said visa denials targeting progressive politicians could signal U.S. displeasure with bilateral ties and described the approach as a way of bringing them to heel.
Cho plans to raise the matter as officials manage broader disputes
Cho said on October 27 that he intended to raise the visa issue with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He was preparing for a five-day visit to Atlanta beginning Thursday, where he would attend a G20 foreign ministers' meeting hosted by Rubio.
Cho called the reported refusal undesirable and said he would ask the U.S. side to issue lawmakers' visas promptly. He also said the two countries could disagree while maintaining a fundamentally sound relationship.
“I am scheduled to visit the U.S. the day after tomorrow and meet with Secretary Rubio. I will raise the issue then as well,” Cho said.
Cho recalled discussing “turbulence” with U.S. Ambassador Michelle Steel over breakfast. Steel had used the same description at an American Chamber of Commerce in Korea event, saying an alliance could weaken but also move forward to become stronger.
The two governments have differences over wartime operational control, joint military exercises and intelligence sharing. Other points of friction include projects tied to South Korea's $350 billion investment commitment and regulations affecting U.S. firms, including Coupang.
A separate intelligence matter has also drawn attention. The United States reportedly objected after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young publicly disclosed a North Korean uranium enrichment facility in Kusong in March, information Washington believed came from shared intelligence.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service said some employees' U.S. visa applications had been delayed, not rejected, and denied that the delays affected intelligence cooperation. Cho is set to press the issue during his U.S. visit, while Jin prepares the requested translations and Seoul continues consultations.
