At a present press-conference Chairman Bang Si-hyuk clarified that the hope was for the band to reunite in two years, but the matter of their contracts and mandatory military service may prevent that from happening.
Nothing is yet confirmed for BTS as the K-Pop septet group’s hiatus continues while its seven members pursue solo endeavors and complete their mandatory military service requirements. When the break was first properly announced in October, the group’s label BigHit Music explained that it wouldn’t be too long of a break, with BTS set to reconvene “as a group again around 2025.”
But at a press conference this week, the chairman of the label’s parent company HYBE, Bang Si-hyuk, deflated hopes that the group’s comeback would still occur on that timeline. “We said we ‘hope’ the members can resume in 2025, not ‘will.’ BTS and the firm will both work for it, but it doesn’t mean we can target then.” – Bang Si-hyuk.
Right now, the eldest member of the group, JIN has begun the standard 21-month enlistment required for men in South Korea. Kim Seok-jin has been sharing periodic updates with the fans. Talking about the other members, they have continued to pursue solo works. J-Hope has just announced already to have initiated the enlistment process. “The process of enlistment and schedules are private information, so I can’t speak about it here. But we will disclose the dates in order transparently once their schedules are confirmed,” says – Bang Si-hyuk during the press conference.
He didn’t have much additional information to share, the chairman spoke briefly about the septet’s contract renewal, “We still have time left until the contract ends. We’ll discuss with the members, within the time and I believe it will be right for us to speak about it after the discussion ends.”