Aju Business Daily

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Aju News) -- BIGBANG's G-Dragon will enter an army boot camp in February to start his mandatory military service, his management agency said Wednesday.

G-Dragon will go to the boot camp on February 27, YG Entertainment said, refusing to disclose the location. The rapper has been the subject of controversy over his reported enrollment at a graduate school program that sparked allegations that he was trying to postpone his military service.

Idol band CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa suspended all public activities after he came under fire over his entry into Kyunghee University's post-graduate school in 2016 without taking a proper interview. Jung's agency denied any preferential treatment or illegal activity, but the singer decided to enter an army boot camp in March.

All able-bodied South Korean men aged 18-35 are required to serve in the military for about two years, because the Korean peninsula is still technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice with no peace treaty signed between the two Koreas.

The military relies heavily on a compulsory service system. Exemptions are rare, with some Olympic gold medalists are not required to serve. Some celebrities use college enrollment and other means to delay military service.