NCT’s Jaehyun announces military enlistment date
NCT member and soloist Jaehyun has confirmed his plans to enlist for mandatory military service later this year.
On September 26, Star News reported that the K-pop idol will enlist later this year on November 4. Shortly after the news broke, SM Entertainment released a statement on Wevers that confirmed the singer’s enlistment date.
“NCT’s Jaehyun has applied to join the army military band, and received a notice of acceptance from the Military Manpower Administration today,” said the agency. “Therefore, he will join the military on Nov. 4 and fulfil his military duty.”
SM also added that it will not be organising a send-off for Jaehyun to prevent overcrowding and safety issues at the enlistment venue, which it did not disclose as “it is a place where many soldiers and their families will gather”.
“Please continue to support and love Jaehyun until he returns healthy after completing his military service,” said the agency. The typical mandatory enlistment period in South Korea is between 18 to 21 months, which means Jaehyun will likely be discharged in the second quarter of 2026.
The announcement comes a month after the NCT singer made his solo debut with his studio album ‘J’. The record was led by the single ‘Smoke’ and preceded by the release of B-side tracks ‘Roses’ and ‘Dandelion’.
This will make Jaehyun the second NCT member to enlist, after rapper Taeyong enlisted in the Navy earlier in April. The next NCT members due to enlist are Doyoung and Jungwoo, who were born in 1996 and 1998 respectively.
In other K-pop news, HYBE has announced that it has rejected requests to reinstate ADOR founder Min Hee-jin as the label’s CEO amid their ongoing conflict, which began in April. The news came two weeks after ADOR girl group NewJeans held a surprise livestream calling for Min’s reinstatement.
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Gladys Yeo
NME
