[Asia Economy, Military Correspondent Yang Nak-gyu] Among the members of the group BTS, Suga (real name Min Yoon-gi) has been assigned as a social service agent. He is the only member of BTS to be exempted from active duty.


According to military authorities on the 13th, once the eldest member of BTS, Jin (real name Kim Seok-jin, 30), begins his enlistment, the remaining members are expected to enlist starting next year. Jin, the oldest member of BTS at age 30 (born in 1992), had his enlistment postponed until the end of this year following a recommendation from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the Military Service Act amended in 2020.


Suga, who postponed his military enlistment until next year, has been assigned as a social service agent and is highly likely to work at a government office. RM (Kim Nam-joon) and J-Hope (Jung Ho-seok), born in 1994, must enlist for active duty in 2025, followed by Jimin (Park Ji-min) and V (Kim Tae-hyung), born in 1995, in 2026, and the youngest member, Jungkook (Jeon Jung-kook), born in 1997, in 2028.


A military official stated, "Even if someone is classified as a social service agent, they can still go as an active-duty soldier if they wish," adding, "It is up to the individual to decide."


Meanwhile, Jin will enter the recruit training center of the 5th Infantry Division of the Army in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do on the 13th, and after receiving five weeks of basic military training, he will be assigned to a frontline unit.


His agency, BigHit Music, requested, "There will be no separate official event on the day of enlistment," and added, "We ask fans to refrain from visiting the site to prevent safety accidents due to crowding." The military also stated, "To ensure safety control at the site, local governments and related agencies will operate a comprehensive situation room, and the fire department will have ambulances on standby in case of emergency patients."

These are English translations of articles from our GTTOUR Japanese website.