Members of K-pop band BTS are to fulfil their requirement to do military service in South Korea, their representatives say.
Label Big Hit Music said members of BTSare “honoured to serve” their country.
The band – RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook – will reconvene “around 2025” following their service commitment, the company said in a statement to Sky News.
All able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 28 in South Korea must perform between 18 and 21 months of military service.
However, exemptions are made for athletes, classical and traditional musicians and dancers who have won top prizes in competitions which boost the prestige of the country.
However, they are now “moving forward with plans” to fulfil their service, Big Hit Music said.
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The oldest member of the group, Jin, aged 29, will be the first to start.
“Group member Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October,” Big Hit’s statement said. “He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government.
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Image: BTS member Jin will start his service first. Pic: AP
“Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.”
It added: “Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.”
The announcement comes after BTS reunited at the weekend for a free performance in the South Korean city of Busan to support its bid for World Expo 2030.
BTS, an acronym of Bangtan Sonyeondan – or Beyond The Scene – are a Grammy-nominated boyband formed in 2010.
Following the release of their debut single in 2013 they have become the biggest-selling music act in South Korean history, with millions of fans around the world.
In May, they met US President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss Asian inclusion and representation and to address hate crime against Asian people.
They have also won a host of awards and been nominated at ceremonies including the Brit Awards in the UK and the Grammys in the US, and in 2021 were named global recording artist of the year by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry – becoming the first act to win the award for two consecutive years.
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.