KB News Desk
Rep. Jung Jung-rae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has failed to obtain a US visa, putting his planned participation in a National Assembly audit of South Korean diplomatic missions in the Americas in doubt.
According to local reports Thursday, Jung was the only lawmaker in the Assembly’s Americas audit team who had not been issued a US visa as of Thursday. Officials at Jung’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Jung had been scheduled to leave for the United States on Sunday and attend an on-site audit of South Korean diplomatic missions in the Americas beginning Monday in Washington. The team was also scheduled to travel to Brazil and Colombia during its 12-day trip.
It remains unclear whether Jung will be reassigned to another regional audit team if he is unable to join the Americas trip. In 2013, when Jung similarly failed to obtain a US visa ahead of a parliamentary audit, he was reassigned from the Americas team to the European team.
There have been no reports that other lawmakers scheduled to participate in the US audit have faced similar visa problems.
Attention has turned to Jung’s past involvement in a student protest against the United States as a possible factor behind the visa issue, although US authorities have not publicly disclosed the reason.
In 1989, while Jung was a university student and a member of the National Council of Student Representatives, he led an occupation protest at the US ambassador’s residence in Seoul. He was later sentenced to two years in prison for violating the National Security Act.
Jung also failed to obtain a US visa in 2013 ahead of a National Assembly audit of overseas diplomatic missions. At the time, diplomatic sources suggested his involvement in the 1989 protest may have played a role, although the US State Department declined to comment on the case.
Jung is a four-term lawmaker who served as leader of the Democratic Party from August 2025 to June 2026.
