All seven members of the popular K-pop band BTS will serve in the South Korean military, their agency said on Monday.

The Korean popular music group's agency, Big Hit Music, announced that the band will go on hiatus and all seven members will restart the band in about 2025.

There had been debate over whether to allow the all-male group to forego their military service due to their artistic achievements.

At least 18 months of military service is mandatory in South Korea for all able-bodied men by the time they turn 28.

Big Hit Music confirmed that Jin, the group's oldest member at 29, will revoke his request to delay his conscription and enlist as soon as his solo project releases later this month.

South Korea's parliament passed a law in 2020 allowing celebrities to defer their military service until they reach 30. But with Jin turning 30 this year, members of the group have made plans to serve.

Other members of the group - Suga, J-Hope, Jungkook, RM, V, and Jimin - are currently between the ages of 25 and 29.

The band last performed together this weekend in Busan. This performance will likely be BTS' last until the group reconvenes following their military service.

BTS launched in 2013 and has risen to global popularity. BTS expanded its appeal to the West with its 2020 hit "Dynamite," becoming the first K-pop act to top Billboard's Top 100.

"Dynamite" was the band's first all-English song, too, and helped pave the way for a sold-out global tour and an invitation for the band to speak at the United Nations.

"Since the creation of BTS over ten years ago, the band has risen to international success, broken records, and catapulted K-Pop into the global stratosphere," Big Hit Music said Monday. "BIGHIT MUSIC has focused on the milestone moment when it would be possible to respect the needs of the country and for these healthy young men to serve with their countrymen, and that's now."

The agency that manages BTS announced that band members would be serving in the South Korean military.
South Korea