{
  "id": 17319081,
  "title": "Ruling party lawmaker issued US visa, days after refusal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/ruling-party-lawmaker-issued-us-visa-days-after-refusal-17319081",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-31T01:37:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/politics/20261031/ruling-party-lawmaker-issued-us-visa-days-after-refusal"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a surprising turn of events, Jin Sung-joon, a prominent lawmaker from South Korea's ruling Democratic Party of Korea, has been granted a U.S. visa for an upcoming trip to the Pacific Command, despite initially being denied. The Democratic Party's key figure and chair of the parliamentary defense committee shared the news on Facebook, expressing relief that the U.S. State Department had finally issued the official A-2 visa, albeit with a delay. Jin plans to depart for the U.S. on Sunday and will engage in discussions with the U.S. Pacific commander and other military leaders, focusing on bolstering bilateral security cooperation and forging a forward-looking alliance.\n\nNotably, Jin had previously announced on Wednesday that his visa application had been rejected, sharing a document that appeared to confirm the refusal. In his post, Jin expressed deep regret, stating that the denial was difficult to comprehend, given his prior visit to the U.S. command in 2014 as a parliamentary committee member. While the exact reason for the denial remains unclear, some observers have pointed to Jin's past conviction as a potential factor.",
  "summary": "Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said Saturday he has been issued a U.S. visa for a trip to the U.S. Pacific Command, days after he said his application was rejected. Jin, who serves as chairman of the parliamentary defense committee, said in a Facebook post that he received the visa from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and that it was fortunate the U.S. State Department has…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Ruling party lawmaker issued U.S. visa, days after refusal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/ruling-party-lawmaker-issued-u-s-visa-days-after-refusal",
        "published": "2026-10-31T00:54:40.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}