BTS: As Jin begins his active-duty military service, Suga gets enlisted as a social service agent

After announcing a temporary hiatus in June this year, the members of the K-Pop sensations BTS, will now be fulfilling their mandatory military service. While Kim Seok-jin aka Jin became the first of the boy band BTS to join the military and entered a boot camp in a frontline area on Tuesday, it is being reported that Suga will carry out his mandatory military service as a social service agent.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the military and music industry sources have been quoted as saying that the 29-year-old rapper was assigned to be a social service agent instead of an active-duty soldier. But details, including when his enlistment will happen, remain unknown.

However, Big Hit Music has refused to confirm the news about Suga and said in a statement, "(Members) will be enlisting in the military in order according to their individual plans. We cannot confirm information on their personal matters."

Suga, born in 1993, had his service deferred until the end of next year under a revised law that allows "those who excel in popular culture and art" to postpone their service until the age of 30. In South Korea, all able-bodied men are obliged to serve between 18 and 21 months in the military.

It is not known why Suga was assigned to the non-active-duty position available to men with health issues. Some say this may have something to do with the surgery he underwent in 2020 to repair his torn shoulder labrum.

According to the band's agency, the group's five other members namely RM, Jimin, J-hope, V and Jungkook will also be enlisting in the military in order. Jin quietly entered an Army training centre in Yeoncheon, 60 km north of Seoul, in a car without a farewell event for fans.

With IANS Inputs