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On December 24, 2023, South Korean media outlet Chosun Ilbo reported that the BTS members had been removed from Recommended Star Soldier section On The Camp application following the Intellectual Property rights dispute with the group's agency Big Hit Entertainment.
The Camp is the legitimate application provided in the South Korean military which helps a soldier get messages from their family and significant other while they stay away from home. As many idols and celebrities are using The Camp, there is a section called Recommended Star Soldier where idols and celebrities are mentioned and fans can send their well wishes to them.
The particular section is reportedly known to be monetized by the application, and the BTS members are not present in this section, as Big Hit Entertainment owns all publicity issues related to the BTS members. Thus, they are protected from being used for profit by The Camp.
As fans learned about this, they were elated, and one user stated:
"So that app can't exploit them": Fans are ecstatic that The Camp will not be able to monetize BTS
As reported by the aforementioned media outlet, approximately 30 soldiers are listed in the Recommended Star section, a subsection under the Soldier Registration bar of The Camp application, and as of December 19, 2023, all BTS members are missing.
It has been reported that, since idols and celebrities have enlisted for their mandatory services, The Camp has developed several services to monetize the platform. Fans have to pay for access, resulting in profit for the application.
However, members have been reportedly removed from the Recommended Star section to protect them from alleged exploitation by the application for profit generation, given that Big Hit Entertainment owns the Intellectual Property rights for BTS members.
As stated by CEO Jang of The Camp application, since Big Hit Entertainment owns the publicity rights (the right to earn economic profits by using personal identities such as names and images), they have removed all the members from this particular section to prevent potential monetization using their name and face.
The CEO's statement, as translated by the user @hyyhxhyyh, is as follows:
"BTS' agency Big Hit Music has publicity rights (the right to gain economic benefits by using personal identities such as portraits and names), but they seems to misunderstand that The Camp is using them to conduct business, so we have removed all celebrities from big management."
As soon as fans learned that all the members were removed from the particular section, they were over the moon and stated that the agency has taken the appropriate steps to safeguard the members from any exploitation. They commended the move, preventing the application from making any profit under their name.
Fans are elated as the group members are removed from the Recommended Soldier Star section of The Camp application following the Intellectual Property rights dispute with Big Hit Entertainment.
The group is currently serving their mandatory military service and is expected to reunite as a group in 2025.
