BTS’ Jin says he leaves the issue of his military service up to his company

K-pop idol group BTS member Jin said he is entrusting the issue of his military service to HYBE, which manages the group.

Jin, 29, the oldest member of BTS, is the first in line in the group to enlist in the military and needs to enlist by December this year if no new law is passed, according to Korean media.

All qualified Korean men are required by law to fulfill their military service. Last November, BTS members applied to postpone their military service under age 30.

The basis is the so-called “BTS Military Service Act,” which took effect in South Korea on June 23, 2021, six months after it was promulgated by the government last Dec. 22.

It allows outstanding pop culture artists like BTS to postpone the start of their military service until they reach 30 years old. Under the new law, artists are qualified for postponement if they are recipients of cultural medals and if they are recommended by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST).

Jin said he has left the issue of military service to HYBE.

"I talked a lot about the issue with the company and decided to entrust it to the company as much as possible. So I can say what the company said is what I said," Jin told Korean media at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas before the BTS concert started on April 9, according to Yonhap News.

HYBE officials held a press conference in Las Vegas and talked about BTS’ military service. A bill is currently pending with Korea’s legislature, the National Assembly, that will grant military service exemption to qualified male artists.

“We’re very cautious on speaking about the military enlistment issue as we know how important it is in South Korea. One thing we’d like to say is that the artists have left everything about the issue in the hands of the company right now,” said Lee Jin-hyung, HYBE’s chief communication director, the Korea Herald reported.

He added, “They have repeatedly stated in the past that they will serve their duty and that part has not changed. But since 2020, the conscription system has been changing, shifting in a way that the members had not expected. And since the revision of the Military Service Act had been proposed earlier this year, the artists have left all related decision-making in the company’s hands.”

According to Lee, BTS “members themselves are finding it difficult to deal with the issue as it is impossible to predict the exact point of enlistment and this troubles them as they try to make plans. The firm and the artists are following the issue very closely, and we will try our best so that it ends in a direction that benefits both the artists and our society.”

He urged Korean lawmakers to resolve it.

“As it’s an issue getting international attention, we believe the discussion has progressed far enough inside the society and at the National Assembly. We hope it gets decided within this term of the National Assembly, as if it is passed to the next, this endless discussion will continue, and such uncertainty is weighing on us, to be candid. Hopefully, the matter gets concluded promptly,” he said.