K-Pop star D.O has announced he will be enlisting in the South Korean military on July 1. The singer, who is best known for singing with group EXO, is set to take part in his mandatory military service this summer, meaning he will have to temporarily leave his career behind.
Just this month, EXO-Ls and EXO members said a temporary goodbye to Xiumin, and it seems too soon to have another member enlist. However, the request came from D.O. himself, who requested to serve his national duties as soon as possible. Naturally, fans are beyond devastated after hearing another EXO singer will be absent for some time.
The decision caught many fans off guard because it comes before his required enlistment date.“I can’t imagine listening to an album without Kyungsoo’s voice in it,” one person wrote, while another added, “I’m so emotional right now I can’t even function properly.”
“EXO’s D.O. is enlisting in July,” SM Entertainment wrote in a statement on May 30. “D.O. [full name Do Kyung-soo] applied to serve in the military and received the notice for his July 1 enlistment date today, and is planning to faithfully serve as an active duty soldier.”
The agency continued: “With Xiumin’s enlistment on May 7 and with the process of military enlistments now starting for EXO, D.O. expressed his will to fulfill his military duties as soon as possible and applied after fully discussing it with the agency and his members. He hopes to enlist quietly, so we will respect his wishes and not reveal the time and location of his enlistment as well as hold any separate events on the day [of his enlistment].”
Confirming the news, D.O wrote a hand-written letter to his fans. “You were probably surprised by the sudden news, right? I wanted to be the first one to tell you, but I’m saddened that I was a little later,” he said.
“I’m writing this letter because I wanted to tell you that as much as this decision was made after a long time of deliberation, I will return safely after fulfilling my duties successfully,” D.O. promised his fans. “I sincerely thank EXO-Ls, who always support us, and I wish everyone would always be full of laughter and healthy. I will greet you again after I return safely and healthily.”
D.O. could have deferred enlisting until 2021 but chose to get his service out of the way.
