{
  "id": 16921297,
  "title": "Ruling party lawmaker voices regret over US visa rejection",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/ruling-party-lawmaker-voices-regret-over-us-visa-rejection-16921297",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-28T16:07:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20261029/ruling-party-lawmaker-voices-regret-over-us-visa-rejection"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rep. Jin Sung-joon, a member of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party, expressed disappointment on Wednesday after his U.S. visa application for a scheduled visit to the Pacific Command was denied. As chair of the parliamentary defense committee, Jin was set to lead a delegation to Hawaii in early November to discuss strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and bolstering security cooperation.\n\n\"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 stated in a Facebook post, sharing a document that appeared to confirm his visa application had been turned down. He noted that the delegation had planned to meet with key U.S. officials, including Admiral Samuel Paparo, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command. Jin emphasized that the rejection was puzzling, considering his previous visit to the U.S. command in 2014 while serving on the parliamentary committee.\n\nThe exact grounds for the visa denial remained unclear, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged consulting with the U.S. side regarding the matter.",
  "summary": "Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Wednesday said his application for a U.S. visa for a trip to the U.S. Pacific Command had been rejected, expressing regret over the situation. Jin, who chairs the parliamentary defense committee, said he was scheduled to lead a parliamentary delegation to the U.S. command in Hawaii in early November to discuss the South Korea-U.S. alliance…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}