In order: Jungkook, Jimin, RM, and V (Credit: AFP)
Four BTS stars complete mandatory military service
BTS members Jimin, Jung Kook, RM, and V officially completed their mandatory military service in South Korea this week.
The idols were met with thunderous cheers and emotional chants as they stepped out in uniform, marking another major step toward BTS’s long-anticipated comeback as a complete group.
The stars appeared outside their military base, where they saluted and greeted roughly 200 fans who had gathered to witness the moment. Some supporters had traveled thousands of miles to be present.
The four began their service in December 2023, following in the footsteps of fellow BTS members Jin, J-Hope, and Suga, who had enlisted earlier. Jin was the first to complete his term in June 2024, while J-Hope was discharged in October. Suga is serving in an alternative capacity as a social service worker and is scheduled to complete his duties later this month.
BTS, one of the most influential pop groups of the 21st century, has been on hiatus as all seven members fulfill South Korea’s compulsory military requirements. Under the country’s conscription law, most able-bodied men must serve for 18 to 21 months, a policy maintained to counter ongoing threats from North Korea.
While South Korea provides exemptions for athletes and classical artists who win international competitions and bring prestige to the country, such privileges do not extend to pop stars. BTS members were able to defer enlistment until the age of 30 thanks to a legislative amendment passed in 2020 that acknowledged their contributions to the nation’s global cultural influence.
The debate over whether BTS should be granted full exemption stirred national conversation in recent years. Ultimately, in 2022, the group’s management announced that all seven members would serve as a personal and collective decision.
Fans and industry watchers alike are now looking ahead to 2025, when the full group is expected to reunite and resume their activities, marking what could be one of the most highly anticipated comebacks in K-pop history.
