BTS Eldest Member Jin Discharged from Military Service... Becomes First 'Veteran' in the Team

First to Enlist, Laying the Foundation for Smooth Military Service
Embracing 1,000 Fans at Tomorrow's Offline Event

Jin (32, real name Kim Seok-jin), the eldest member of the group BTS, completes his military service of about 1 year and 6 months and is officially discharged today (the 12th).

BTS Jin. [Photo by SNS]

According to the music industry, Jin is scheduled to leave the guard post after reporting his discharge at the 5th Division Recruit Training Center in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, this morning.

Jin, who enlisted first among BTS members in December 2022, served as a drill instructor at the 5th Infantry Division Recruit Training Center. He is the first among the seven BTS members to complete his military service. The other six members?J-Hope, Suga, RM, V, Jungkook, and Jimin?are still serving. J-Hope, who enlisted second, is set to be discharged in October.

There will be no separate event on the day of discharge. The agency Big Hit Music previously stated on the 11th, "The discharge day is a day when many soldiers gather," and "To prevent safety accidents due to congestion, we earnestly ask fans to refrain from visiting the site."

A banner celebrating BTS member Jin's upcoming discharge is hung in front of the New Recruit Training Battalion of the 5th Army Division in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do, on the 11th. Photo by Yonhap News.

All BTS members currently serving in the military reportedly applied for leave to celebrate Jin’s discharge. Originally, the members planned to greet Jin directly at the military base on his discharge day, but due to concerns about safety accidents, the meeting place was changed to a location in Seoul.

Having completed his national defense duty, Jin will attend the offline event "2024 FESTA" held at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the day after his discharge, June 13, to meet with ARMY (BTS fandom). ‘FESTA’ is an annual festival BTS holds to celebrate their debut anniversary (June 13) with fans.

On the day, Jin will hold a hug session for 1,000 fans during Part 1 starting at 3 p.m. In Part 2, he will have a session to communicate with fans.

BTS members seeing off RM and V for their military enlistment.
[Photo by BTS Official Social Media]

BTS is currently on a military hiatus, with Jin having enlisted first, followed by J-Hope, Suga, RM, V, Jimin, and Jungkook in order. Their full-group activities are expected to resume after Jimin and Jungkook, who enlisted last, are discharged in June 2025.

HYBE faced concerns that its growth might slow due to BTS, its top IP, enlisting, but after successfully renewing contracts with all members last year on their 10th debut anniversary and expanding various IPs, it was designated as a large business group in the K-pop industry for the first time last month.

Although HYBE experienced internal turmoil due to disputes with its subsidiary ADOR, causing its market capitalization to drop by nearly 1 trillion won, the securities industry views Jin’s discharge as a positive turning point, anticipating fanbase consolidation as other members follow suit.

Meanwhile, Big Hit Music stated, "We ask that warm welcomes and encouragement for Jin be sent from the heart," and "We are always grateful for the support and unwavering love fans have shown Jin. We will continue to do our best to support our artists."