Defense Committee Chairman Jin Sung-joon's A-2 Official Visa Denied on Oct 28 → Issued on Oct 31… Visit to US Indo-Pacific Command from Nov 1 to 5
US Secretary of State Rubio: "Issue related to a specific individual's decades-old actions… Will resolve through bilateral consultations"
A cascading case following the visa delay of former Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae… Mention of 1991 National Security Act violation record
An unprecedented wave resolved through quiet coordination by defense and foreign affairs leadership… Responsibility for alliance management failure remains
The official schedule of the National Assembly Defense Committee Chairman wavered over a single US visa. Jin Sung-joon, Defense Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, had his official (A-2) visa application denied by the US side on October 28, but received it four days later on October 31, allowing him to visit the US Indo-Pacific Command from November 1 to 5 alongside ruling and opposition defense committee members. This wave is too large to be dismissed simply as an individual immigration screening issue.
Rep. Jin stated on Facebook that day, "I am fortunate that the US Department of State belatedly issued the official visa (A-2) to the Chairman of the National Assembly Defense Committee," adding, "I will discuss ways to strengthen security cooperation and develop a future-oriented alliance with the Indo-Pacific Commander and other US military leadership." The denial notification was issued on the 28th, and following the visa delay of former Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae—whose parliamentary audit schedule was disrupted that same month—opposition criticism erupted that "warning lights have turned on for the ROK-US alliance."
This marks the first time the US side has spoken out. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference during the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta on the 31st (local time), "There was a visa issue involving one specific individual, likely related to actions from decades ago," and added, "We will resolve that issue based on bilateral consultations, not through a press conference." The phrase 'decades-old actions' is interpreted as referring to Rep. Jin's 1991 conviction and three-year prison sentence under the National Security Act. However, since that record has been known for a long time, an explanation is still needed as to why the official schedule of the National Assembly Defense Committee Chairman was not coordinated in advance.
Ultimately, it was an express intervention by the leadership of the government that managed the situation. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul asked US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to look into the visa issue during the ROK-US Defense Ministers' Meeting in the Philippines on the 28th, and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met Secretary Rubio at the G20 event to discuss the visa matter directly. The People Power Party urged a national apology, calling it "an unprecedented diplomatic humiliation and national disaster that shows the bitter reality of a 'creaking ROK-US alliance'," while the Democratic Party countered that it was "anti-national self-harm that mocks security diplomacy accompanied by ruling party lawmakers." If a single screening criterion can shake alliance protocol, the government must move beyond simple explanations and use this incident to inspect the ROK-US alliance management system. Looking at a diplomacy where the Defense Committee Chairman's departure for the US hangs in the balance like a debt repayment deadline, the public asks: Who is currently protecting this government's credibility with the US?