Aftermath of Dating Rumors Turns into ‘Debate’ over Military Exemption, Seventeen is Making Noise

Seventeen debuted in 2015 and has steadily grown as a group, marking their 10th year this year. Their tenth mini-album, “FML,” released in April last year, achieved the highest career milestone, solidifying their position as an irreplaceable K-pop top idol group.

Since their debut, Seventeen has released numerous hit songs while showcasing perfect teamwork and chemistry, which helped expand their fandom. However, last year, Joshua’s dating rumors spread like wildfire online, leading to fan disillusionment and experiencing privacy risks.

Joshua’s dating rumors began on SNS. Netizens captured items such as couple outfits and accessories worn by Joshua and a woman he had been dating for a long time, as well as traces of love shared on the woman’s personal channels, adding weight to the dating rumors.

Furthermore, various suspicions and speculations, such as eyewitness accounts of the woman visiting fan event venues and claims that the two enjoyed trips together, intensified the controversy indiscriminately.

Pledis Entertainment, their agency, remained silent on the matter. While some fans continued to support Joshua, others demanded accurate information from Pledis or criticized it as fan deception, even staging truck protests.

As a result, fandom division occurred. The sharp confrontation within the normally solid and cohesive Seventeen fandom continued.

Perhaps in acknowledgment of this, Joshua eventually shed tears in front of fans. During a Tokyo Dome concert, where he announced the start of the dome tour last year, he left a message saying, “I won’t forget the love of the fans.” Fans interpreted his tears at that time as stemming from the controversy surrounding his dating rumors and sent him encouragement.

While Joshua’s personal life issues have subsided, military issues involving Seventeen have heated up since the beginning of the year. The news of S.Coups‘s military exemption due to a knee injury was reported exclusively by Xsports News on January 1st.

Pledis immediately acknowledged this, stating, “S.Coups underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery, posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery, and is currently undergoing rehabilitation treatment,” and explained, “He received a 5th-grade classification in the military physical examination.”

The severity of the injury, enough to warrant military exemption, was evident. However, controversy arose when it was revealed that S.Coups would still participate in comeback activities.

Seventeen is gearing up for a full group comeback in April. Prior to that, they will hold concerts on the 30th and 31st of this month, and S.Coups is expected to participate not only in those concerts but also in Seventeen’s comeback activities.

Public reactions to this vary. There are concerns about his injury while questioning whether comeback activities are feasible. Even fans express various opinions regarding his participation in comeback activities, saying, “I’m worried,” “Shouldn’t he take a break?” “Isn’t it too much pressure?”

As the military service status of Seventeen members born in 1995, starting with S.Coups, is expected to be revealed one by one, attention is focused on what results will follow after S.Coups, who opened the door with his military exemption.

While Seventeen has received widespread love without major controversies, concerns are growing about whether their career record march will be marred by various rumors, big and small, tarnishing their image.