EXO's Kai and his sudden military enlistment (Image via Instagram/@zdklin)

"Why even bother making something up?": Fans angered at SM Entertainment for the sudden and unexpected military enlistment of EXO Kai

Modified May 05, 2023 17:43 GMT

On May 3, SM Entertainment released a statement announcing the sudden news of EXO Kai's military enlistment. They stated that the artist will be beginning his service period on May 11, and since the process felt quite hurried and rushed, fans were confused about the same.

SM Entertainment then explained that this was due to the recent changes in the military service laws. As per allkpop, they said:

"Kai was preparing for EXO's comeback for this year, but because of a recent change in regulations by the Military Manpower Administration, he's set to enter the army recruit training center on May 11. He'll receive basic military training, and he will then serve as a public service worker."

However, Star News reported that as per a staff member of the Military Manpower Administration, there haven't been any changes in the military service laws as mentioned by SM Entertainment in their statement. Additionally, the staff member also mentioned that the reason for Kai's enlistment was due to the exhaustion of all five postponement requests.

Upon hearing the other side of the story, fans have been angered about the agency's poor handling of EXO Kai's military service.

Military wife

@KAIHOTTIES

Why even bother make something up?? Thinking the military wouldn't speak up about such a bogus claim? Other mald idols get like a 30 days notice. And he could have had a chance to announce it himself or written a letter. Like....

Fans criticize SM Entertainment for poor and rushed handling of EXO Kai's military enlistment

When SM Entertainment initially revealed that EXO Kai will be enlisting in less than a week, the news took social media by storm. Given that Kai was preparing for EXO's comeback, fans expected him to not enlist for another year or so.

상혁 마마⁶

@Gracyn3750

The problem is SM not letting Kai know they used up his 5 times to postpone, not "regulation change" due to an enlistment scandal. That wording from SM literally led a hate train to Ravi that had nothing to do with it

⭒sɪᴅ⭒ 🥢

@korepadada

so wrong of sm to announce it the way they did tbh like using “sudden” “unexpected” lol they just set kai up twitter.com/tmikpop/status…

TMIKpop

@tmikpop

An official with the Manpower Military Admin told Star News re Kai’s sudden enlistment that one can delay enlistment up to five times within two years and it seems that he has used all five up due to various schedules including overseas perfomances

jannat

@wishexol

why do i feel like sm planned everything since the beginning without kai's knowledge like look how sm's favourite idol is going to debut solo & coincidently kai who literally broke every record for sm soloist have to enlist forcefully

Additionally, since the announcement said that it was due to the sudden changes in the military law service, fans felt that it was only right to respect the same. However, with staff members stepping forward to reveal that there haven't been any changes in South Korea's military law services, it angered fans. They believed that the situation was a result of the agency's poor management and handling of the idol's enlistment services.

Under the laws of South Korea mandatory military service laws, an individual can postpone their service up to five times, out of which only two requests can be labeled for miscellaneous reasons. Fans believed that all of EXO Kai's postponement requests were exhausted by SM Entertainment without his knowledge and this broke their hearts.

It has also been speculated that Kai was not only unaware of his postponements being exhausted but also learned about his sudden enlistment after the agency's official announcement. Soon after the news broke, the idol went live on Instagram to talk about his departure to his fans.

Military wife

@KAIHOTTIES

I'm just wondering why sm let kai waste his time preparing for a comeback they KNEW he wasn't going to be apart of. He could spent more time promoting rover instead. SM are a bunch of greedy and selfish gremlins. They will not see another happy day.

That's Okay👌

@AnnaKaisoo

@KAIHOTTIES @KkaebsongByunBH And SM also didnt discuss anything with Kai and just post the news and Kai only know at that day too🤦🏻‍♀️idk what happened to this company

rover aoty

@kaisoohoe

SM:Kai must enlist immediately due to rule changes in the military
Military staff:we didn’t change any rules… that’s all y’all
SM:

EXO-Ls could see that Kai was visibly sad and upset to leave both EXO and his fans suddenly amidst the much-awaited comeback. The idol even shed a few tears while talking about how heartbreaking it is for him to leave everything behind all of a sudden with little time to prepare for the same.

However, fans are excited about the free fan meeting that EXO Kai is organizing on May 9, at 7 pm KST, at YES 24 Live Hall in Seoul. Given that it's only two days before his enlistment, this will be the last time fans see him in real life until his return next year.

Edited by
Adelle Fernandes