HYBE revealed on Monday (October 17) that its flagship group BTS will fulfill their mandatory military service in their home country of South Korea.
The announcement from the South Korea-based entertainment giant follows months of speculation about whether or not the K-Pop superstars might get an exemption due to their contribution to the country’s economy and cultural exports worldwide.
As reported by Nikkei Asia over the weekend, the question has been the subject of debate amongst the public and in Government. Some professional sports stars, like gold-medal-winning Olympic athletes, are granted exemptions from the draft in South Korea.
Under South Korea’s laws, men aged 18 to 35 are required to serve in the military for 18 to 21 months.
In an official statement released on Monday (October 17), HYBE’s BIGHIT MUSIC revealed that the members of BTS are “currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service”.
The oldest member of the group, Jin, will be the first to initiate the process as soon ‘as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October’ and ahead of his 30th birthday in December.
HYBE says that other members of the group plan to carry out their military service “based on their own individual plans”.
The company says that it and the members of BTS will “reconvene” in “around 2025” following their service commitment.
“Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.”
HYBE
Said BIGHIT MUSIC in an official statement, via Weverse, and official social platforms on Monday: “The members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service.
“Group member Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October. He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government.
“Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.”
“Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.”
Monday’s announcement follows the news from June that the K-pop group would be taking a break to pursue solo projects.
The news spooked investors in the publicly-traded K-pop company, causing HYBE’s shares to fall by nearly 25% on June 15, wiping around $1.5 billion from its market cap value.
Investors had good reason to be concerned. As HYBE’s flagship group, BTS are a key revenue driver at the company, although the band’s share of HYBE’s revenues has been lessening in recent years.
Nearly 90% of HYBE’s (then Big Hit’s) revenues in the first half of 2020 were BTS-related.
According to HYBE’s FY 2021 results, BTS was responsible for nearly a third of the company’s album sales (and AES streams) in the US market last year. That, of course, was the same year it acquired Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings (in a billion-dollar deal), including SB Projects and Big Machine Label Group.
On August 3, the Seoul-headquartered music company published its financial results for the three months ended June 30 (Q2 2022), revealing soaring revenues, driven by strong album sales and a robust “Artist Direct-involvement” business.
According to investor filings, HYBE generated revenues of South Korea Won (KRW) 512,218 billion in the three months ended June 30.
That Q2 revenue figure converts to approximately USD $391 million at current exchange rates, up by 83.8% year-over-year.
Over the weekend, BTS staged a free concert in Busan, South Korea, attracting more than 49 million viewers in-person and online.
The free-of-charge concert, called “BTS ‘Yet to Come’ in Busan,” had some 50,000 in-person audiences at the Asiad Main Stadium and another 10,000 watching at a live retransmission at the Busan Port, Variety reported on Saturday (October 15).
Another 2,000 people watched the show in the seaside district of Haeundae, which recently hosted the Busan International Film Festival.Music Business Worldwide
