BTS cleared the final hurdle to its long-anticipated reunion after rapper-producer Suga, the last of the septet to serve, was officially discharged from South Korea’s mandatory conscription on 21 June. Big Hit Music confirmed that the 31-year-old completed his alternative service as a social service agent, bringing all seven members—Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook—back from military duty for the first time since the group went on hiatus in 2022. Within days of the discharge, BTS announced during a livestream on Hybe’s Weverse platform that it will release a new group album in the spring of 2026, followed by its first world tour in nearly four years. The band said all members would travel to the United States in July to begin recording, adding that the project will “reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas.” The forthcoming record will be the group’s first full release since the 2022 anthology ‘Proof’. BTS’s return is expected to galvanize both the global music industry and South Korea’s economy. Before pausing for national service, the K-pop act generated an estimated 5.5 trillion won (about $4 billion) in annual economic value, or roughly 0.2 % of the country’s GDP, according to the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute. Investors have closely watched Hybe, the group’s listed management company, for signals on the scale and timing of the 2026 tour.