BTS member SUGA's military service ends

K-pop singer poised to return to music

SEOUL:

SUGA, a member of the K-pop megaband BTS, will officially complete his mandatory military service on Saturday, marking the full return of all seven members of the global supergroup from duty.

South Korea's most lucrative musical act has been on a self-described "hiatus" since 2022 as its members undertook the mandatory service required of all South Korean men under 30 due to tensions with the nuclear-armed North.

SUGA will be the last to complete his service, ahead of the group's widely anticipated return to activities as a full unit.

His final day concludes at 11:59:59 pm, according to the band's agency HYBE and South Korea's Military Manpower Administration.

The rapper, who served as a social service agent — an alternative form of military duty — effectively completed his service on Wednesday after using up his remaining leave, according to his label.

"Above all else, I wanted to .... sincerely thank our fans who waited for me all this time," SUGA told the group's fans - collectively known as ARMY - on the platform Weverse.

"I've missed you so much."

Before entering military service, the megaband generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($4 billion) in yearly economic impact, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

Analysts expect HYBE's operating profit to jump next year, driven in part by BTS's anticipated return to large-scale touring, with some projections forecasting a 71 per cent year-on-year increase.

"The importance of BTS's reunion to HYBE, K-pop and South Korea at large cannot be overstated. They are singular in their part of the Korean Wave," Grace Kao, a sociology professor at Yale University, told AFP.

"I think their next tour will be their biggest yet."

Since their release last week, band leader RM has appeared at Art Basel in Switzerland as the new global ambassador for Samsung's Art TV, while member V was spotted attending a piano recital in Seoul alongside Old Boy filmmaker Park Chan-wook.