BTS member may be conscripted within this year; manpower agency to set date

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military manpower agency plans to set the timing of a BTS member being conscripted in comprehensive consideration of vacancies in units, the number of those on waiting lists and relevant administrative procedures, an official said Monday.

Jin, the oldest member of the K-pop boy band, may join the military as early as in December, as the group's management firm, Big Hit Music, announced his decision to revoke an application for the delay of his enlistment at the end of this month.

The Military Manpower Administration (MMA) officially reiterated a principled stance that it will handle such an issue in accordance with related rules and procedures.

An MMA official later said on background the agency will send a notice of conscription to Jin after he actually retracts the postponement of it. Then, the MMA will fix when he will begin serving his military duty, taking into account the military's manpower needs and the number of other draftees in waiting, added the official.

An informed source said it usually takes two to three months for the MMA to issue a notice of conscription after it accepts an application for the withdrawal of a request to delay conscription.

It means Jin may enter boot camp as early as in December.

All able-bodied South Korean men are obliged to complete around 18 months of military service between the ages 18 and 28 under the Constitution.

But Jin, born in 1992, has been allowed to postpone his military service by the end of this year in recognition of his contribution to South Korea's international image and cultural sector as a BTS member under a conscription law revised in 2020.

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