As suspicion arose that BTS J-Hope received special treatment during his enlistment process, the military unit involved made a statement.
On April 21st, a representative of the 26th Infantry Division of the Army told Ilgan Sports, “Because J-Hope is so famous, we were most worried about accidents on our side. We cooperated with his agency in advance to prevent accidents and traffic congestion.”
They added, “We hope people understand that safety was the top priority because enlisted soldiers, friends, and family would be coming. We hope the public does not misunderstand.“
Earlier on April 18th, J-Hope quietly enlisted as a trainee in the Baekho Training Camp of the 36th Infantry Division in Gangwon-do, as previously announced.
His agency, Big Hit Music, requested that fans refrain from visiting the site due to safety concerns related to congestion. Only a few fans visited the enlistment site, and no significant congestion occurred.
However, on the same day, a media outlet reported that the army had provided special treatment to J-Hope during his enlistment process, igniting a controversy.
Read more: South Korean Army suspected of providing special treatment to BTS J-Hope on his enlistment
The outlet alleged that on the day of J-Hope‘s enlistment, the Military Camp informed people via the guard post sign that only one vehicle would be allowed to enter the base for enlistment, but six cars, including those carrying J-Hope and other BTS members and staff, entered the base, raising suspicions of special treatment.
Regarding this issue, a representative of the camp said, “It is not a regulation to prohibit more than one vehicle from entering the camp for safety control purposes,” and “On that day, we did not turn away two vehicles that came for the event, including civilian vehicles.”
The representative also explained that multiple vehicles can be allowed to enter the camp in case of unavoidable circumstances for regular soldiers, not just for J-Hope.
In response to the allegations of special treatment and the statement by the military unit, Korean netizens expressed various opinions on online communities, such as, “I think that is right for our safety,” “I greeted BTS members and staff at a nearby parking lot,” and “I don’t think that is special treatment.“
