BTS’ Suga officially begins military enlistment process

nme.com:

BTS rapper Suga has begun preparations for his military enlistment.Today (August 7), Big Hit Music released a statement announcing that the rapper had terminated his enlistment postponement and is currently beginning the enlistment process.Under South Korean law, all able-bodied male citizens are to serve for 18-21 months by the age of 28.

The BTS members had previously been granted exemptions to defer their enlistments until they turned 30 after receiving an Order of Cultural Merit in 2018 by then-president Moon Jae-in.“We would like to inform our fans that Suga has initiated the military enlistment process by applying for the termination of his enlistment postponement,” Big Hit Entertainment said in its statement. “We will inform you of further updates in due course.”“We ask you for your continued love and support for Suga until he completes his military service and safely returns.

Our company will spare no effort in providing support for our artist,” added the agency.It was previously reported last year that Suga would be enlisting as a public service worker due to a long-term shoulder injury, though Big Hit Music stated at the time that it “cannot confirm information on [the members’] personal matters”.

It is unclear if the rapper or agency intend to share news on his military vocation at a later time.This will make Suga the third BTS member to enlist, following eldest member Jin in December 2022 and J-hope in April 2023, both of whom are enlisted as active-duty soldiers.The announcement comes just after Suga held a three-night encore of his ‘Agust D’ concert in Seoul over the weekend.