Yesterday, the K-pop band Exo sent off their member Kai to military enlistment. A photo of the group gathered around the singer on May 11, went viral on social media.
The viral picture shows the singer with a military buzz haircut.
Earlier this week, SM Entertainment announced that Kai, also known as Kim Jongin, would work as a social worker as a part of his mandatory military service after training.
The announcement about Kai’s enlistment came as a shock to Exo’s fans, who were waiting for the band to return with new projects this summer, after a long break.
The label mentioned that the sudden announcement was made due to an alleged change in military laws.
The official announcement read: “Hello, this is SM Entertainment. We are delivering sudden news regarding Kai’s enlistment date. Although Kai had been preparing for Exo’s comeback later this year, due to recent changes in the law regarding military enlistment, Kai will be enlisting on May 11 to complete his basic training, after which he will begin working as a social worker."
Exo singer Suho took to Instagram to say that he will miss Kai.
Fans also took to social media with farewell messages and wishing the singer to return safe and healthy.
“This is hitting me now… This is not a dream but a reality. Please be safe and come back healthily… We will wait for you,” wrote @exol_aghase, sharing a video of the singer saluting fans as he left.
The nine-member boy group under SM Entertainment released their last extended play album in 2021.
In 2018, the group visited Dubai to launch their song ‘Power’ at the Dubai Fountain.
Thousands of fans of all ages, known as Exo-Ls (short for Exo-LOVE), had gathered around Burj Khalifa for the launch, which was covered live by Gulf News.
