EXO's Kai Sheds Tears While Thanking Fans For Their Support Before His Unexpected Military Enlistment

On May 3(KST), SM Entertainment announced that EXO‘s Kai would begin his mandatory military enlistment on May 11.

Hello, this is SM Entertainment.

We are delivering sudden news regarding Kai’s enlistment date.

Although Kai had been preparing for EXO’s comeback later this year, due to recent changes in the law regarding military enlistment, Kai will be enlisting on May 11 to complete his basic training, after which he will begin working as a social worker.

To respect Kai’s wishes to quietly enlist, we are not revealing the place and time at which he will enlist. We also ask that fans understand that any scheduled events on that day will be canceled.

We will reveal details regarding EXO’s upcoming album as they are confirmed.

Thank you.

— SM Entertainment

This announcement shocked fans, who had been anticipating EXO’s upcoming comeback since Baekhyun’s discharge from service on February 5. The group recently held their eleventh-anniversary fan meeting, kicking off their plans for the year.

Following the unexpected announcement, Kai went live and shared his feelings about his upcoming enlistment. The star shared the news himself, saying, “I’m going to the military,” shedding tears at the start of the stream.

During the nearly hour-long live stream, he reiterated that he was not upset to serve but because there was “so much that I had prepared.”

There’s so much that I had prepared. What a pity. That’s what’s upsetting. There’s nothing that I could do about this. I’m sad that I can’t show you what I prepared but I can just show it after I return.

Kai

Kai also shared that he had only just found out about his enlistment and expressed his wish to see fans again before having to leave for training. The star promised that he would “smile from tomorrow onwards.”

It’d be nice if I could see your faces before I go. I think I’m going to miss you so much. I’m already missing you right now though. Today is the first day of me finding out about it as well, so please be understanding. I’ll smile from tomorrow onwards.

— Kai

EXO-Ls have made it clear they will wait for the star to return after his service, trending the phrase worldwide following his live stream!