Last member of K-pop megaband BTS to finish military service
South Korea's most lucrative musical act has been on a self-described "hiatus" since 2022 as its members undertook the mandatory service required of all South Korean men under 30 due to tensions with the nuclear-armed North.
SUGA will be the last to complete his service, ahead of the group's widely anticipated return to activities as a full unit.
His final day concludes at 11:59:59 pm, according to the band's agency HYBE and South Korea's Military Manpower Administration.
The rapper, who served as a social service agent -- an alternative form of military duty -- effectively completed his service on Wednesday after using up his remaining leave, according to his label.
"Above all else, I wanted to .... sincerely thank our fans who waited for me all this time," SUGA told the group's fans -- collectively known as ARMY -- on the platform Weverse.
"I've missed you so much."
Before entering military service, the megaband generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($4 billion) in yearly economic impact, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.
Analysts expect HYBE's operating profit to jump next year, driven in part by BTS's anticipated return to large-scale touring, with some projections forecasting a 71 percent year-on-year increase.
"The importance of BTS's reunion to HYBE, K-pop and South Korea at large cannot be overstated. They are singular in their part of the Korean Wave," Grace Kao, a sociology professor at Yale University, told AFP.
"I think their next tour will be their biggest yet."
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