BTS’ Jin to revoke the postponement of his military service after Coldplay concert
BTS member Jin will be canceling the privilege granted by the Korean government that allowed him to postpone his military service until age 30.
“Jin will apply (for the cancellation of military service postponement) as soon as he comes back from Argentina and will organize things including his activities,” an industry official told Korean media outlet Sports Chosun in an exclusive report on Oct. 26.
He is in Argentina to perform his upcoming single “The Astronaut” at Coldplay’s concert “Music of the Spheres” at Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires on Oct. 28. The song will be released on the same date.
Last Oct. 17, Big Hit Music, the group’s agency, announced that all members of BTS will be fulfilling their military service. Jin, the oldest, will be the first to enlist.
“Group member Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October. He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government,” it said.
It added, “Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans. Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.”
Jin needs to cancel his military service postponement so the Military Manpower Administration (MMA), which supervises the military service, can send him a notice of his enlistment.
New law
All seven members of BTS applied last year to postpone their military service until age 30. Their basis was a new law revising Korea’s Military Service Act promulgated on Dec. 22, 2020, which allows outstanding pop culture artists like BTS to postpone the start of their military service until they reach 30 years old.
Article 60, or the Postponement of Draft Physical Examination and Enlistment in Military, etc., of the Military Service Act states that “the director of a regional military manpower office may postpone the conscription or call-up of a person who has undergone a draft physical examination or a follow-up draft physical examination, who falls under any of paragraph (1) 1 through 3 or falls under any of the following: A student who attends a high school or higher; A person who is taking a prescribed course at a training institute; An outstanding person to enhance the national prestige in the fields of sports and public culture and arts.”
The bill for the law was first filed in September 2020 after BTS topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time with “Dynamite.”
The law took effect on June 23, 2021, or six months after it was promulgated. The law specifies that artists who are qualified for the privilege are those recipients of cultural medals and if they are recommended by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST).
BTS members were bestowed the Hwagwan (Flower Crown) Order of Cultural Merit in October 2018 for their contribution to spreading Hallyu, or Korean Wave, around the world.
They applied for the postponement of their military service last year and were recommended by the culture ministry.
Under the law, Jin’s military service postponement is until the end of the year.
Last March 19, Jin underwent surgery after injuring “his left index finger during his daily activities,” according to Big Hit Music.
“He consulted doctors and was told he required surgery as the tendons in the finger had been partially damaged. He underwent surgery to repair the extensor in his left index finger on the afternoon of Friday, March 18,” the agency previously said.