Direct numerical simulation (DNS) is performed to investigate suppressed wake transition and occurrence of lock-on in the wake of a circular cylinder disturbed by sinusoidal perturbation at the Reynolds number of 220 (A-mode instability regime). The sinusoidal perturbation, of which the frequency is near twice the natural shedding frequency, is superimposed on the free stream velocity. It is shown that the wake transition behind the circular cylinder can be suppressed due to the perturbation of the free stream velocity. This change causes a jump in the Strouhal number from the value corresponding to A-mode instability regime to the value corresponding to retarded wake transition regime (extrapolated from laminar shedding regime) in the Strouhal-Reynolds number relationship. As a result, vortex shedding frequency is locked on the perturbation frequency depending not on the natural shedding frequency but on the modified shedding frequency.