Here's a sad news for SHINee's fans: The K-pop boy band's lead vocalist Onew, whose real name is Lee Jin Ki, will be enlisting in the military soon to carry out his two-year mandatory service.
It came to light when his management agency, SM Entertainment, announced that Onew would begin his two-year mandatory military service on Dec. 10. He will first go through four weeks of basic military training at an undisclosed boot camp before continuing his service as an active-duty soldier.
"Onew will enter the military as an active-duty soldier on Dec. 10," SM Entertainment said in a statement obtained by Yonhap News Agency. "We're not going to reveal the date and time of his entry as he wants to make it low-profile."
SM Entertainment went ahead to say that the 28-year-old K-pop idol and actor will not hold a separate event to bid farewell to his fans. He is the first among the four SHINee members to enter the military. There is no word yet on when the remaining three members - Key (Kim Ki Bum), Minho (Choi Min Ho), and Taemin (Lee Tae Min) - will enlist in the military.
Onew debuted as the main vocalist and leader of SHINee in 2008. Since then, the boy band has released several hit songs such as "Replay," "Ring Ding Dong," "Lucifer," "Sherlock," "Everybody," "Dream Girl" and "View."
Aside from group activities, Onew also took his talent to the small screen. He starred as Baek Su in JTBC's sitcom "Welcome to Royal Villa" (2013) and Lee Chi Hoon, a first-year resident of Thoracic Surgery, in KBS 2TV's pan-Asia hit drama "Descendants of the Sun" (2016).
He was also initially set to star in the JTBC television series "Age of Youth 2" alongside Choi Ah Ra, Ji Woo, Park Eun Bin, Han Seung Yeon and Han Ye Ri. Shortly before it premiered, he decided to ultimately leave the project after he was charged with sexual harassment.
At the time, it was reported that Onew touched a woman's legs two or three times while intoxicated at a club in Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea. The said woman was reportedly dancing on a platform, while he was sitting on a chair next to it.
One witness, then, claimed the K-pop idol was too intoxicated to stand properly and appeared to be grabbing the woman's legs as support. Eight months later, it was announced that the charges against Onew had been dismissed by the prosecutors.
