MONSTA X member Minhyuk told fans on Monday he will begin his mandatory military service next month.
“I plan to go with a happy heart,” the 29-year-old singer wrote in a message shared online. “I will use this upcoming period as a time to make myself stronger and become a cooler Minhyuk.”
He called military service his “national duty.”
South Korea’s conscription law requires most males to register to start 18 months of military service by the time they are 28. A 2021 amendment allowed pop stars to apply for deferment of their military service until they are 30.
Minhyuk is the second member of MONSTA X to enlist after Shownu in July 2021.
“I’m not going somewhere far so don’t be too sad,” he told fans. “For the time we cannot see each other, I will be healthy in mind and body and return after becoming a cool person.”
Jin, the oldest member of BTS, enlisted in December.