BTS Does Not Have to Serve in the Military Until Age 30

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]The group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) has been granted the option to postpone military enlistment until the age of 30. Among BTS members, Jin (Kim Seok-jin), who is the oldest at 28 years old, can delay enlistment until 2022, while Jungkook (Jeon Jung-kook), the youngest, can postpone it until 2027.

On the 22nd, the Ministry of National Defense announced that a partial amendment to the Military Service Act, which adds 'outstanding individuals in the field of popular culture and arts' to the list of those eligible to defer military conscription and mobilization, will be promulgated. This amendment will take effect six months after its promulgation.

The Ministry of National Defense plans to minimize the specific scope of eligible deferments to prevent excessive postponements and will reflect this in future presidential decree revisions. It is known that those who have received cultural medals and commendations and are recommended by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism for their contributions to national prestige will be allowed to delay enlistment until the age of 30.

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includes BTS, who received the Order of Cultural Merit with a flower crown in October 2018 in recognition of their contributions to the spread of Hallyu and the Korean language, making them eligible if recommended by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Meanwhile, the amendment also includes provisions allowing the extension of discharge postponement periods in units of six months or less for those requiring inpatient treatment due to war injuries or accidents. This is to ensure that soldiers injured during military service receive adequate treatment before discharge.

Previously, discharge postponement could only be extended up to six months from the mandatory service expiration date, and medical support after discharge was only available to those recognized as national veterans or recipients of veterans' compensation. This system will be implemented immediately upon promulgation and will apply to soldiers currently under discharge postponement.

Additionally, the period of extended service after discharge for paid volunteer soldiers has been increased from the existing 1 year and 6 months to up to 4 years, and the title has been changed to 'Term-limited Non-commissioned Officer.' This provision will also apply to personnel selected before the enforcement date and will be implemented simultaneously with the promulgation.

Furthermore, criminal record information of social service agents will be provided to the heads of their respective service institutions for management purposes, and new grounds for criminal punishment have been established for social service agents who leak, misuse, search, or view personal information.

The Ministry of National Defense stated, "This is to prevent serious crimes such as digital sex crimes committed by social service agents using others' personal information," and added, "It will be enforced simultaneously with the promulgation of the law."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.