U.S. stresses 'America first' visa policy amid visa refusal claim by S. Korean lawmaker

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. State Department said Thursday that President Donald Trump's administration puts American interests first in enforcing immigration laws amid a claim by a South Korean lawmaker that he was refused a visa ahead of a planned visit to a U.S. military command in Hawaii.

Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Wednesday his U.S. visa application for a trip to the U.S. Pacific Command had been rejected. He shared on Facebook what appeared to be a document that showed his application was refused.

Jin serves as chairman of the defense committee of South Korea's National Assembly.

"The Trump Administration continues to put America and its interests first by fully enforcing U.S. immigration laws and ensuring lawful travel through our visa process," a State Department spokesman told Yonhap News Agency in a written response to the lawmaker's claim.

"The Department of State adjudicates each visa application on a case-by-case basis," the spokesman said. "As a general matter, we do not comment on Department actions with respect to specific visa cases."

Jin said he and his parliamentary delegation had meetings scheduled with key figures, including U.S. Pacific Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo, adding the rejection is difficult to understand, given that he had visited the U.S. command in 2014 as a member of the parliamentary committee.

The exact reason for the reported visa denial remains unclear, but some observers note that Jin's past conviction for violating South Korea's National Security Act may have been a factor. He was sentenced to three years in prison and a three-year suspension of qualifications in 1991 for violating the law.

Jin plans to submit English translations of court rulings after U.S. authorities requested the documents concerning his past conviction.

This Oct. 19, 2026, file photo shows Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party attending a parliamentary audit session at the military headquarters in Gyeryong, some 145 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

The foreign ministry said it is consulting with the U.S. side on the matter and that Jin's application process appears to be still under way, although noting that it cannot verify the details of individual visa applications.

The apparent visa denial follows a similar case involving Rep. Jung Chung-rae , former chairman of the DP earlier this month.

Jung had initially planned to join the audit team of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee on its U.S. trip earlier this month but was forced to switch to the Europe audit team as his visa application had remained pending ahead of his planned departure.

The repeated visa issue came amid concerns about apparent friction between South Korea and the United States over intelligence cooperation after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's public disclosure of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility in Kusong, North Korea, in March.

The U.S. has reportedly complained about Chung's disclosure of the information, which it believes was based on intelligence shared by Washington.

Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he plans to ask the U.S. to expedite visa issuance for South Korean lawmakers amid delays affecting their planned visits.

"Although this has nothing to do with South Korea-U.S. relations, it is an undesirable situation, so I intend to ask the U.S. side to ensure that visas are issued promptly to our lawmakers," Cho told reporters before departing for Atlanta to attend a Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting.

odissy@yna.co.kr (END)

Ruling party lawmaker voices regret over U.S. visa rejection

Ruling party lawmaker expresses deep regret over U.S. visa delay

U.S. stresses 'America first' visa policy amid visa refusal claim by S. Korean lawmaker

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华盛顿，10 月 29 日（韩联社）——美国国务院周四表示，唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府在执行移民法时将美国利益放在首位。此前，一名韩国议员声称，他在计划访问夏威夷的一个美国军事指挥部之前被拒绝签发签证。

执政党共同民主党议员金成俊周三表示，他前往美国太平洋司令部访问的签证申请已被拒签。他在脸书上分享了一份疑似拒签文件。

金某担任韩国国会国防委员会主席。

美国国务院发言人在一份书面回复韩联社的声明中表示：“特朗普政府将继续把美国及其利益放在首位，全面执行美国移民法，并通过签证程序确保合法旅行。”该回复是针对这位议员的说法。

发言人表示：“国务院对每份签证申请都进行个案审理。一般来说，我们不对国务院针对具体签证案件的处理结果发表评论。”

金表示，他和他的国会代表团已安排与包括美国太平洋司令部司令塞缪尔·帕帕罗海军上将在内的重要人物会面，并补充说，考虑到他曾在2014年以国会委员会成员的身份访问过美国司令部，这种拒绝令人难以理解。

据报道，金某被拒签的确切原因尚不清楚，但一些观察人士指出，他过去因违反韩国国家安全法而被定罪可能是导致拒签的因素之一。1991年，他因违反该法被判处三年有期徒刑和三年吊销工作资格。

金某计划在美国当局要求提供有关他过去定罪的文件后，提交法院判决的英文翻译件。

这张摄于2026年10月19日的资料照片显示，执政党共同民主党议员晋成俊在位于首尔以南约145公里鸡龙市的军事总部出席国会审计会议。（韩联社）

外交部表示，正在就此事与美方进行磋商，金某的申请程序似乎仍在进行中，但同时指出无法核实个别签证申请的细节。

此次签证拒签事件与本月早些时候民主党前主席郑正来议员遭遇的类似案件如出一辙。

荣格原本计划在本月初随议会外交事务委员会的审计小组访问美国，但由于他的签证申请在他计划出发前仍未获批，他被迫转而加入欧洲审计小组。

在韩国统一部长官郑东荣3月份公开披露朝鲜龟城拥有铀浓缩设施后，韩国和美国在情报合作方面出现了明显的摩擦，而签证问题也随之反复出现。

据报道，美国对钟某泄露信息一事表示不满，美国认为这些信息是基于华盛顿方面分享的情报。

与此同时，韩国外交部长赵显铉表示，由于签证延误影响了韩国议员的访问计划，他计划要求美国加快向韩国议员发放签证。

“虽然这与韩美关系无关，但这种情况令人遗憾，所以我打算要求美方确保及时向我们的议员发放签证。”赵在启程前往亚特兰大参加二十国集团外长会议前告诉记者。

odissy@yna.co.kr (完)

执政党议员对美国签证拒签表示遗憾

执政党议员对美国签证延误表示深切遗憾

美国强调“美国优先”签证政策，此前韩国议员声称其签证申请被拒。