Suga of BTS begins military service, the third member to do so

2021 filepic of Suga at a press conference to introduce their new single 'Butter' in Seoul, South Korea . Suga, a member of K-pop supergroup BTS, began fulfilling his mandatory military duty Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service in the country. — Photo: AP

Suga of BTS began his mandatory military service on Friday.

He will be fulfilling his compulsory military service by doing alternative service after receiving basic training for the first few weeks during boot camp.

“I was able to come this far thanks to you ARMY (the name of BTS' fan community). Now it’s time for me (to begin my mandatory military service). I will do my utmost to fulfill my national duty. Stay warm as the weather is getting cold. Stay healthy and let’s meet in 2025. I always love you and thank you ARMY,” wrote Suga to his fans on Weverse on Friday.

He had canceled his deferral of the mandatory military service last month to initiate the military enlistment process.

Big Hit Music did not disclose the reason for Suga being assigned to alternative service but him having had surgery repairing a labral tear in 2020 is believed to be the reason.

Suga is the third member of K-pop sensation BTS to enlist in his compulsory military service following Jin, who enlisted in December 2022 and J-Hope who joined in April this year. – The Korea Herald/Asia News Network