On December 22, South Korea's Ministry of National Defense officially declared that individuals who have been recognized as 'Merit Awardees in the Field of Popular Culture and Arts' will be included as those eligible to request delays in their mandatory military service draft. 

This policy will be put into effect approximately 6 months after the Ministry's public media declaration (~6 months after 12/22). Back on December 15, members of the State Council of South Korea agreed to declaring this policy public, just a few weeks after the South Korean General Assembly passed the same military law on December 1. 

The exact details of who will be considered as 'Merit Awardees in the Field of Popular Culture and Arts' will be determined by a Presidential Amendment later in 2021. In addition, the Ministry of National Defense plans on ensuring that this policy is not abused by popular entertainers, by putting in effect regulations such as that only those who have officially been recognized as eligible under this certain category by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST) will be able to file conscription delay requests. 

Under this military law, which has been popularly coined the "BTS Military Act", individuals who have been recognized as 'Merit Awardees' can delay their mandatory military service duties until the age of 30. In the case of BTS, the group's oldest member Jin will be able to postpone his service until 2022, while the group's youngest member Jungkook may be able to postpone his service until 2027 if he wishes.