BTS reunion nears as K-pop stars Jimin, Jung Kook discharged from service

Yeoncheon, South Korea: The most recent and last members of BTS to be released from South Korea's mandatory military duty are K-pop sensations Jimin and Jung Kook.

Following their discharge, the two donned their military uniforms on Wednesday, saluted, and spoke to the crowd of supporters who had gathered to see them.

Jung Kook thanked the journalists and fans who travelled to see him and Jimin after their discharge and acknowledged how different it was to be back in the spotlight.

“Actually, it's been so long since I've been in front of cameras, and I didn't even put on makeup, so I'm a bit embarrassed,” he said. “I don't know what to say.” They enlisted in December 2023, one day after RM and V did the same. The latter were discharged on Tuesday. They saluted upon their release Tuesday in Chuncheon City as about 200 fans, some of whom travelled from Mexico, Turkey and Brazil, cheered, AP reported.

V thanked fans Tuesday for their patience in waiting for him and RM's return and teased the band's reunion. "If you can just wait a little bit longer, we will return with a really amazing performance.” The seven singers of the popular K-pop band plan to reunite as a group sometime in 2025 after they finish their service.

Six of the group's seven members served in the army, while Suga is fulfilling his duty as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service. He will be discharged later this month.

Jin, the oldest member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, was discharged in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged in October.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

The law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige. K-pop stars and other entertainers aren't subject to such privileges.

However, in 2020, BTS postponed their service until age 30 after South Korea's National Assembly revised its Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to delay their enlistment until age 30.

There was a heated public debate in 2022 over whether to offer special exemptions of mandatory military service for BTS members, until the group's management agency announced in October 2022 that all seven members would fulfil their duties.

With PTI inputs