A Seoul court has rejected a South Korean government decision not to grant Korean American singer and actor Yoo Seung-joon a visa to enter the country.

The Seoul High Court's ruling on Friday comes after the Supreme Court in August rejected a lower court ruling that sided with the government's move to bar entry for the 42-year-old entertainer. 

Yoo was a popular artist in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but he came under immense criticism in 2002 after attaining U.S. citizenship shortly before he was to enlist in South Korea's compulsory military service, thereby absolving him of any legal obligation to do so.

Since then, the Justice Ministry has banned Yoo from South Korea, citing his potential to engage in "acts that harm national interest or public safety." 

After his request for an F-4 long-term residency visa for foreign nationals of Korean heritage was rejected in 2015, Yoo filed a lawsuit against Seoul's Consulate General in Los Angeles.

The following year, the Seoul administrative court ruled the singer's return to South Korean show business could "demoralize soldiers who are devoting themselves to serving the country and encourage conscription evasion." This ruling was upheld by an appellate court in 2017.

In response to the latest development, the Foreign Ministry said it intends to file another appeal with the Supreme Court.