The eldest member of BTS, Jin, may be allowed to delay his mandatory military enlistment until 2021, according to Big Hit Entertainment.
Documents filed by Big Hit Entertainment for the company's initial public offering include the status of the BTS members' mandatory enlistment.
Based on data submitted to the Financial Supervisory Office, the record label said BTS members included those born between 1992 and 1997. The document stated that Kim Seok Jin (Jin) could delay his enlistment up to the end of 2021 based on the current Military Service Law, Soompi reported
The document said Jin, along with his BTS members, will receive 68,385 shares of the company as a gift from Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si Hyuk. The shares each member will receive are worth approximately $7.7 million if the IPO is priced at the upper end of its range.
Big Hit founder Bang Si Hyuk's IPO initiative aims to strengthen the label's long term cooperation with its core artists who have contributed significantly to the agency's growth.
With BTS' new status as shareholders and part owners of the company, the label said that means the company is looking to protect its interests in the event artists aren't able to promote themselves as a result of military enlistment, illness or accident.
ARMYs remain hopeful Jin will be able to delay his mandatory enlistment to allow BTS more time to focus on its upcoming projects. The members recently announced plans for another album before the end of the year.
However, Jin is scheduled to enlist this December when he turns 28 - the maximum allowable age for Korean males to enlist for mandatory service. Fans recently found some hope in a new amendment that is being considered for the Military Service Act, All Kpop reported.
Based on the proposal, artists who have contributed to the advancement of culture and the arts could be allowed to delay enlistment until they were 30. Pop culture artists and E-sports athletes who have brought honor to the country and helped advance national status are being considered for the new ruling.
BTS members could qualify. They were the youngest recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit award in 2018. They also earned multiple local and international awards and broke records that brought honor and fame to Korean entertainment since 2017.
