After their highly successful concert in Busan over the weekend, BTS members will start preparing to enter the mandatory military service before the year ends, the K-pop supergroup’s label Big Hit Music announced Monday, October 17.
The label proudly stated that all members of the phenomenal group are “honored to serve” the nation.
The statement also mentioned that member Jin, legally named Kim Seok Jin, will be the first one in the group to comply with the process of enlisting for his military obligations as soon as he finishes his solo project by the end of October.
Read the rest of the statement below.
The remaining members RM, Suga, V, Jung Kook, J-Hope, and Jimin will follow Jin’s lead. Each one of them will finish their compulsory military service by 2025.
In June, the members earlier announced their hiatus as a group to focus on their individual projects.
BTS’ mandatory military service had been a topic of discussion in the country for years. In 2020, the government proposed to revise the military law to allow K-pop stars to delay their service until they reach 30 years old.
There are also calls from former and current government officials, including former Culture Minister Hwang Hee, to exempt the group’s members from serving in the military due to their valuable contribution to boosting South Korea’s reputation worldwide.
At the moment, only able-bodied men from 18 to 28 years old who achieved recognition from major international athletic competitions and those who won top prizes in classical music and dance competitions can be exempted from fulfilling their military duties.
While the talks about BTS’ exemptions continue at the moment, the agency revealed that the group plans to comply with the military duties.
Because of this development, the “BTS Yet To Come in Busan” concert held on Saturday, October 15, will be the group’s last public performance together.
Source: Sky News
