Petition to bring back deported Purple Heart veteran gains national attention

When Sae Joon Park, a Purple Heart recipient and U.S. Army veteran, boarded a plane for Seoul on June 23, it wasn’t a homecoming—it was an exile. Park, now 55, left behind the only home he truly knew after being forced to self-deport under a long-standing removal order tied to decades-old drug charges and a missed court appearance.

Despite having served honorably in the U.S. military and living a stable life post-incarceration, he now finds himself a stranger in the land of his birth, struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), language barriers, and deep isolation.

Park immigrated to the United States from South Korea at the age of seven. At 19, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Panama, where he sustained gunshot wounds during combat. His injuries earned him the Purple Heart, but the psychological scars ran deeper. Like many veterans, Park developed post-traumatic stress disorder, which led him down a destructive path of drug use.

He was later convicted of drug possession and bail violations, serving three years in prison. But since his release in 2012, he turned his life around—reuniting with his family in Hawaii, maintaining sobriety, and complying with annual check-ins with immigration authorities.

Park’s service and rehabilitation should have counted for something. Instead, they were ignored. Under the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies, he was pressured to leave, despite posing no threat and having complied with all conditions of supervised release for over a decade. His only crime after serving his time was that he never naturalized.

Now, back in Korea, Park faces a new ordeal. He barely speaks Korean and struggles to navigate daily life. The stigma of deportation has left him feeling ashamed, even around his extended family. In an interview with NBC, he shared that his PTSD has worsened, and he often breaks down in tears without warning. He does not regret serving in the military or being wounded—“That was part of my life,” he said. What he does not deserve is the abandonment of the country he once fought for.

The injustice here is not just legal—it is moral. Deporting a wounded veteran who risked his life for this country sends a chilling message to every immigrant who serves in uniform. Park is not a security risk. He is not a repeat offender. He is a man who made mistakes while suffering from a condition the military did not properly treat, then spent over a decade proving he could rebuild.

Even more distressing is the fact that legal remedies may now be within reach. As Park’s attorney Danicole Ramos points out, a recent federal appeals court ruling indicates that drug possession alone may no longer be grounds for deportation. The only remaining barrier is a conviction for bail jumping, treated as a serious offense despite the underlying cause being mental health issues stemming from wartime trauma.

That is why Park’s supporters are calling on the Queens County District Attorney’s Office to reopen his case and vacate the conviction. A Change.org petition titled [#SaveSaeJoon: Reopen Sae Joon Park’s Case to bring him home] has already garnered thousands of signatures. Veterans, community members, and human rights advocates agree: Park belongs in America, with his children, his community, and his future.

This is more than a legal fight. It is a test of our national conscience. Do we value service only when it is convenient? Do we honor sacrifice only when the soldier is perfect? Park may have stumbled, but he also stood back up. The least we can do is offer him the chance to come home.

By Mooyoung Lee [lee.mooyoung@koreadaily.com]