Seo Eunkwang previously announced that he will be releasing a mini-album on June 8 at 6 p.m. KST.
On May 29, the leader of BTOB shared the tracklist for his upcoming solo album. The album features seven songs in all, including his pre-release track “Dear My Dear.” One of the songs was co-composed by Hyunsik, with Eunkwang co-writing the lyrics, Soompi reported.
This will be Eunkwang’s first solo comeback after being discharged from his military service last April 7, 2020. He was discharged earlier than his original release date, following South Korea’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) protocol.
Korea’s Ministry of National Defense implemented new protocols in February which restricted leaves and visitations for military personnel to help stop the spread of the virus. Vacation dates were also adjusted so that those on their last vacation before their discharge would be dismissed from service without needing to return to their bases.
Upon his return, Eunkwang held a live broadcast where he confirmed that he is BTOB’s leader again.
Before his enlistment, Eunkwang passed on the leadership of BTOB to member Minhyuk, the second oldest in the group. However, Minhyuk, along with member Changsub, enlisted in the military service soon after.
The leadership ended up with the youngest member of the group, Sungjae, when the remaining members of the group played ‘Spin the Wheel’ to determine the next leader. The wheel featured a message from the group’s official leader Eunkwang saying “Enjoy it while I’m gone. Enjoy it now.”
Sungjae led the group until Eunkwang returned this year. Following Eunkwang’s return, fellow members Sungjae and Hyunsik enlisted on May 11 for their mandatory military service where the members became emotional as they parted right when their leader has just returned.
And on May 28, member Ilhoon released a statement that he will be enlisting as well on that day. Ilhoon is the last member of BTOB who’ll be carrying out mandatory military service, as Peniel doesn’t need to serve due to his American citizenship, Soompi reported.
BTOB’s fans will have to wait for two years for the group to be finally complete. For now, they are waiting for Eunkwang’s mini-album release, ready to support the leader’s solo comeback.
