| BTS perform onstage during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP-Yonhap |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
HYBE called on the National Assembly to swiftly reach a decision on BTS' possible exemption from compulsory military service, saying the unresolved issue is causing headaches for its artists.
Lee Jin-hyung, the chief communication director at HYBE, said the company has been closely monitoring the changing policy on active-duty military service since 2020, when the so-called "BTS Law" was passed allowing the group members to postpone their service until they are 30 years old. Jin, the oldest member of the group, must enlist by December of this year.
"We are very careful about bringing this up because we know how important the military duty issue is in Korea. However, we hope the decision (regarding BTS' possible exemption from mandatory military duty) will be reached as soon as possible," he said during a press conference held at MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Saturday (local time).
The group's members have continued to express their commitment to fulfill their obligation as male citizens of Korea, but Jin most recently said he entrusted the company to handle his military duty issue.
There is currently a bill pending at the National Assembly that would allow prominent male pop stars to gain the advantage of such exemptions. If passed, the affected men can substitute their mandatory active-duty service with alternative programs.
The bill failed to be passed by the parliamentary national defense committee in November, with opponents saying a passage could spark controversy for being unfair to young men in other fields. Exemptions have been granted to Olympic medalists and recipients of global awards in classical music and art, but there is no clause concerning pop musicians.
All able-bodied Korean men are required to serve in the military for about two years.