SEOUL, Apr. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Xiumin, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, will enlist in the Army next month, becoming the first EXO member to temporarily leave the band to fulfill his military duty, its management agency said Tuesday.
The 29-year-old, whose real name is Kim Min-seok, will start his 21-month military service on May 7 as an active-duty soldier, according to SM Entertainment. But the exact time and place of his enlistment ceremony will not be released to the public in keeping with his desire to make it a quiet affair.
Ahead of the enlistment, Xiumin will perform in EXO-CBX’s Japanese concerts, Magical Circus 2019 Special Edition, slated for April 16-17 in Saitama and April 27-29 in Kobe.
But the concerts are likely to be the last major event featuring Xiumin in foreseeable future, and EXO will be unable to bring all its members together as the South Korean bandmates will be completing their mandatory military service.
(Yonhap)