▲ This image, provided by Big Hit Music, shows BTS at the concert titled "Yet To Come in Busan" at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium on Oct. 15, 2022. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) BTS members to fulfill military service starting with oldest member Jin

(ATTN: UPDATES with background info in last 2 paras)

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- K-pop supergroup BTS on Monday announced that all its members will fulfill their military service starting with the oldest member Jin, the band's agency said Monday.

"Jin will revoke his request to delay his conscription at the end of this month and will follow conscription procedures required by the Military Manpower Administration," Big Hit Music said in a public notice to the local bourse. "Other members will fulfill their military duty in turn according to their individual plans."

Jin, born in 1992, had his conscription delayed till the end of this year under the Military Service Act revised in 2020.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve in the military for about two years. But the current law allows global award-winning athletes and classical musicians recommended by the minister of culture, sports and tourism to do alternative services in their respective fields instead of serving in active military duty.

Bills that would include globally recognized male pop culture artists, like BTS, in the program are still pending at the National Assembly amid a lingering debate over whether the K-pop giant should get exemptions in recognition of its contribution to improving the country's brand image.

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