South Korean pop group BTS ready with military service, last band member Suga fired

This article was last updated on June 24, 2025

Canada: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…
USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart…

South Korean pop group BTS ready with military service, last band member Suga fired

The military service of all BTOP-sensation BTS band members is over. Today’s record label has confirmed the resignation of band member Suga. He completed an alternative military service on Wednesday after he had used up his remaining leave. Tomorrow is his official dismissal date.

The return of Suga in the civil society will not be a public event, Big Hit Entertainment of BTS reported earlier. There was a fear that too much audience would come, because the resignation of the last BTS member is a memorable moment for the millions of fans.

In South Korea, all healthy men between the ages of 18 and 28 have to fulfill military service for 18 and 21 months. This has been applying in South Korea since 1957 and is intended to enable the country to defend itself against North Korea. South Korean women can voluntarily register for the army.

No exemption

The law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have won main prizes in certain competitions and are considered a source of increased national appearance. K pop stars and other entertainers do not receive such privileges.

In 2022 there was a heated public debate about whether the BTS members could still be exempt from conscription. Fans of the band (who also call themselves Army) and some politicians called on the South Korean government to give the seven band members an exception because of their exceptional performance as artists.

But in the end the management’s management came up with the message that the members still employed. That period is now closed.

As fast as The Beatles

Last week BTS members RM and V were fired from the South Korean army. A day later, Jimin and Jung Kook followed. All four of them were employed in December 2023. Jin, the oldest member of the seven-member pop group, already completed his military service in June 2024. In October this year it was J-Hope’s turn to wave off.

Only Suga did not serve in the army, but fulfilled an alternative military service. South Korean media reported that he had been physically declared unsuitable. The specific reasons were not announced, but it was suggested that this was because he had surgery on a shoulder in 2020. As a result, he served as a social worker in the South Korean army. What he did exactly there was not announced.

The seven singers are planning to come together again as a group everywhere this year. The band is recognized worldwide as a cultural phenomenon with very loyal fans. The band would such a year the South Korean economy 3 billion euros deliver. In South Korea they had sold more than 40 million albums in 2023. In the US, with four albums, BTS achieved the number 1 position in the album list Billboard 200. That happened faster than with any band Since The Beatles.