SEVENTEEN's Jeonghan Begins His Military Duties As A Social Service Worker

The first one among SEVENTEEN members, '2nd eldest hyung' Jeonghan officially starts his military duties.

On the 26th of September, SEVENTEEN's Jeonghan commenced his national defense duty and entered a training center to undergo basic military training for a few weeks. Instead of active military duty, he will be reporting as a social service worker for his alternative service.

Jeonghan will begin his mandatory military service on September 26th. As previously announced, he will not be able to participate in our 12th mini-album promotions and world tour schedule, but he will continue to greet fans through various content that we have prepared in advance. There will be no separate official events on the day of his mandatory service and his enlistment in the training center. Please refrain from visiting his alternative service location. We ask for CARATs' continued love and support so Jeonghan can faithfully fulfill his military service and return in better health. Our company will also continue supporting Jeonghan
- Pledis Entertainment

The exact reason for Jeonghan's alternative service has not been revealed. However, it is most likely due to health reasons since he has undergone two surgeries in the past years — elbow surgery and the most recent one, for his ankle injury last year.

A day before his enlistment, Jeonghan posted a heartfelt message to fans on Weverse. He expressed his gratitude to CARATs, reassured them that he would be okay, and promised that he would return well so they should not worry about him a lot. Fellow members also commented on Jeonghan's post with some words of encouragement. CARATs also expressed their sentiments about Jeonghan's enlistment on social media.

It's 2PM KST, Jeonghan has officially entered the military.
Seventeen Yoon Jeonghan will be on hiatus, and now it's just Yoon Jeonghan living his normal civillian life 🩷🩵

Stay healthy, rest well, eat a lot, come back safely. pic.twitter.com/wfFQxGa4sR

— hanahanihano (@softlyshakespe1) September 26, 2024

JEONGHAN will be enlisting as a social service worker. That only means he will still come home in BooHan's dorm. 🥺🤍

🖇️: https://t.co/LxuCKkgbcv pic.twitter.com/Z3Qr01ygz5

— louisse 🐰ྀིྀི (@centerdeekay) September 25, 2024

Jeonghan, who is the second oldest in SEVENTEEN, has now become the first member to enlist in the military. He is part of the group's 'eldest line/hyung line' or '95z (born in 1995)' together with S.Coups and Joshua. S.Coups, the eldest and leader of the group, is exempted from the military and received a Grade 5 (wartime labor) classification after his cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery in his left knee. Joshua, on the other hand, is an American citizen and will not be enlisting.

Jeonghan's enlistment signals the start of SEVENTEEN's military period. As previously mentioned by their agency's CEO, the group will continue its activities despite members enlisting. There will be no 'military service hiatus' or group breaks since they have a lot of members and some won't need to enlist (non-Korean members).

Pledis CEO HSS mentioned SEVENTEEN in recent interview
"even if some members of Seventeen enlist in the military, the group will continue its activities. Seventeen is a team without a 'military service hiatus'. This is both a strength and advantage of having multiple members." pic.twitter.com/mvEVUFcuHc

— ً read bio (@seungkwanfeed) December 23, 2023

Meanwhile, Jeonghan's group SEVENTEEN will be releasing their 12th mini-album 'SPILL THE FEELS' on October 14, 2024.

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