Former Korean celebrity and singer Yoo Seung Joon may be allowed to return to Korea finally, if rumors are true.

Although one of Korea's most popular celebrities a decade ago, he was shunned and expelled from Korea following a scandal revolving around his mandatory military service requirement due to what was considered an act of desertion. It's now rumored that his ban may be lifted at the end of this month.

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He had risen to become one of the best selling artists and had always had a positive image with his boy-next-door charms. Although he was born in Korea, he moved to the U.S. during his teen years and later came back to Korea to launch his career. He spoke frequently in public about doing his duty as a male citizen of Korea and vowed to carry out active military service. But just a few months before his enlistment date, he obtained a U.S. citizenship instead (which meant he was giving up his Korean citizenship as Korea does not allow for dual citizenship). This meant he no longer needed to serve the mandatory military service in Korea which he was originally due to serve in a few months. This was considered desertion and the singer was deported and a ban was placed forbidding him from entering Korea (unless permission was obtained for special circumstances, like a death in the family).

On New Year's Day, a source close to Yoo Seung Joon spoke to Ilgan Sports and commented, "Yoo Seung Joon's ban will be lifted this month. With help from the current Chinese agency he's under, 'JC Group International', he is making plans to return to Korea the first half of this year... Yoo Seung Joon is still very much missing his Korean fans and the Korean stage. He wants to promote in Korea again."

This issue has left netizens debating about whether the singer should be allowed to return and wondering whether his ban is indeed being lifted as rumored.