BTS agency HYBEÂ confirmed Wednesday that the K-pop megastars would release a new album and go on tour in 2026, with the group's livestream announcement of their return attracting more than seven million views.
The seven-member group had been on a self-described hiatus since 2022 while they undertook their mandatory military service -- required of all men under 30 in South Korea due to tensions with the nuclear-armed North.
Now discharged from service, the septet "will travel to the United States in July to begin preparations for the new album and tour all together", HYBE said in a statement.
BTS announced their official comeback during a live broadcast on Tuesday, the first livestream with all seven in nearly three years.
The livestream attracted more than 7.3 million real-time views, according to the agency.
HYBE said BTS "plan to release their new album in 2026 and embark on a large-scale world tour".
Group member RM said during the livestream that the new album "is officially set to be released next spring."
"Starting next spring, we'll of course be going on tour, so please look forward to seeing us all around the globe," he added.
Their comeback album would be their first in four years since "Proof", which was the best-selling album of 2022 in South Korea, with nearly 3.5 million copies sold.
Before their military service, BTS generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($4 billion) in yearly economic impact, according to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.
That accounts for roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea's total GDP, according to official data.
- Soft power bedrock -
BTS is the "bedrock of South Korea's soft power," Kim Yang-hee, an economics professor at Daegu University, told AFP.Â
"South Korea's soft power is being led by the private sector -- best exemplified by the success of BTS and Squid Game -- but it needs the support of public sector for democratic values such as freedom of expression," Kim said.
Last year's political upheaval spurred by a martial law declaration "dealt a blow to such values", she added.
Former president Yoon Suk Yeol was formally stripped of office in April after being impeached and suspended by lawmakers over a December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, in which armed soldiers were deployed to parliament.
South Korea "would be served better by bolstering such (democratic) values and holding those accountable for the martial law", Kim said.
BTS, known for backing progressive causes, holds the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify, and became the first K-pop act to top both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.
There had been debate over whether BTS should be granted exemptions from military service -- sometimes granted to Olympic medallists and classical artists who win top international awards -- but pop stars do not qualify under South Korean laws.
With the lack of public consensus on the matter, the members enlisted individually, beginning in late 2022.
kjk/dhw
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