Seventeen's Seungkwan and Dino Begin Army Service as Dino Prepares Automatic Release

Eight members now serving as final pair enlist

Seventeen members Seungkwan and Dino entered the Army Training Center together on October 26, 2026, bringing the number of members currently fulfilling South Korea's military service requirements to eight out of the group's 13. Both will serve in the Army's military band after completing basic training, according to their agency, Pledis Entertainment.

Seungkwan, 28, and Dino, 27, are the last members required to begin service. Their enlistment means every member subject to the obligation is now serving or has completed it. The pair are scheduled to be discharged on April 25, 2028.

Their absence also comes with music prepared before enlistment. Dino's solo digital single, "AUTOMATIC," is scheduled for release at 6 p.m. on November 3, eight days after he entered the training center. He helped write and compose the song with producer Jintae Ko.

For fans known as CARATs, those two developments explain the group's immediate situation: military duties have stopped the pair's participation in Seventeen activities, while material prepared beforehand can still reach listeners. Pledis has said such content will continue during their service.

Basic training comes before band duties

Seungkwan and Dino showed their short hair during live broadcasts on the fan community platform Weverse before beginning service. They then entered training together, sharing both an enlistment date and the announced plan to serve as military musicians.

Pledis said their military band duties would follow basic training. The assignment therefore includes an initial period of Army training before they take up their musical roles within the military.

Their October 26 enlistment completed a sequence that began with Jeonghan in September 2024. The group's military hiatus has developed through overlapping absences rather than all members leaving on a single date.

Seungkwan and Dino were able to take part in scheduled official activities before their service began, Pledis said. After enlistment, their group schedules stopped. For audiences, future releases featuring them will therefore draw on work completed before they entered service.

Pledis asks fans to keep training sites clear

Pledis announced that there would be no separate official event for the pair on enlistment day. The agency asked fans not to visit the training center because other recruits and their families would be attending the same entrance ceremony.

In its notice, Pledis Entertainment, the agency responsible for Seventeen's activities, explained the request and its plans for staying connected with fans. The full notice, translated from Korean, reads:

Hello.

This is Pledis Entertainment.

We would like to inform you of the military service schedules for Seventeen members Mingyu, Seungkwan and Dino.

First, Seungkwan and Dino are scheduled to enlist as Army military-band members on October 26. They will participate in scheduled official activities without disruption until their enlistment. As the training-center entrance ceremony on enlistment day is an occasion shared by many soldiers and their families, we ask that you refrain from visiting the site.

Mingyu will begin fulfilling his military service obligations on September 10 and will likewise participate in scheduled official activities without disruption until his service begins. There will be no separate official event on his service start date or on the day he later enters the training center, and we ask that you refrain from visiting his alternative-service workplace.

All three members will be unable to participate in Seventeen's activities after their service begins, but they will continue to reach CARATs through various content prepared in advance. We would appreciate it if you would leave your farewell and encouragement messages for the members on Weverse.

We ask for CARATs' unwavering love and support so that Mingyu, Seungkwan and Dino can faithfully fulfill their military service obligations and return in better health. We will also spare no effort in continuing to support our artists.

Thank you.

The request also reflected guidance issued for Mingyu's service. Pledis had said there would be no official event when his service began or when he later entered training, and asked supporters to stay away from his alternative service workplace.

For all three members, the agency's message was consistent: scheduled entertainment activities could continue until service started, followed by a period away from Seventeen schedules. Prepared content would provide the continuing connection with fans.

Who is serving, and who has finished?

Five Seventeen members are now serving in the Army: Hoshi, Woozi, DK, Seungkwan and Dino. Wonwoo, Vernon and Mingyu are serving as social service agents, carrying out their obligations through an alternative form of service rather than as active Army soldiers.

The distinction helps explain why the members have different assignments even though they are all fulfilling military service requirements. Seungkwan and Dino's announced roles are within the Army, while the three social service agents follow a different service arrangement.

Eight serving members out of 13 amounts to about 62 percent of Seventeen. Before Seungkwan and Dino entered, six members were serving; their arrival increased that number by two. Jeonghan had already completed his service in June 2026.

Leader S.Coups received an exemption because of a torn cruciate ligament, an injury involving a ligament in the knee. Joshua, Jun and The8 are foreign nationals and are not subject to the same South Korean military obligation. Joshua is American, while Jun and The8 are Chinese.

The group's current position therefore includes eight members serving, one who has finished, one who received a medical exemption and three foreign members outside the obligation.

How the enlistment period unfolded

Seventeen's service commitments have stretched across more than two years. Jeonghan's departure in September 2024 started the sequence, followed by further enlistments and alternative service assignments in 2025 and 2026.

The key dates show how one member could return while others were still preparing to leave:

• September 2024: Jeonghan became the first member to begin service.
• April 2025: Wonwoo began alternative service.
• 2025: Vernon began social service, while DK, Woozi and Hoshi entered the Army.
• June 2026: Jeonghan completed his service.
• September 10, 2026: Mingyu began service as a social service agent.
• October 26, 2026: Seungkwan and Dino entered the Army Training Center together.
• November 3, 2026: Dino's "AUTOMATIC" is scheduled for release at 6 p.m.
• April 25, 2028: Seungkwan and Dino are scheduled to be discharged.

The final enlistments close the list of members waiting to begin their duties. The group's period of military absences continues, with several members serving at the same time.

Dino's Automatic brings a new release during service

Dino's forthcoming single gives fans a specific release to anticipate during that absence. "AUTOMATIC" describes the excitement of falling in love and the feeling of being complete when two people are together.

Dino participated in both the lyrics and composition alongside Jintae Ko. The production credits put his own songwriting at the center of the release, continuing the solo work he developed before entering the Army.

He previewed the song at his August concert in Seoul, "Dino X Picheolin Board Show." That performance moved between singing rap, which combines melodic delivery with rap, and falsetto, a lighter vocal sound often used to reach higher notes.

The announced release time is 6 p.m. on November 3. Its arrival follows Pledis's promise that content prepared before service would continue to appear while members were away from their regular activities.

Solo work connects the months before and after enlistment

Dino's August activities extended beyond the preview of "AUTOMATIC." He released his first EP, "Board," under his alter ego Picheolin and held solo shows in Seoul and Macao. An EP is a collection of songs shorter than a typical full album.

Picheolin gives Dino a separate performance persona alongside his identity as a Seventeen member. The August release and concerts provided a setting for that solo work shortly before his October enlistment.

"AUTOMATIC" connects those appearances with his period of service: audiences who heard an early version at the Seoul show are now awaiting the digital release. Fans who did not attend will be able to hear a song he had already introduced onstage.

Pledis has promised various pieces of prepared content for the absent members, but has not announced a complete release calendar or a date for a reunion involving all 13 members. The next specific music date is November 3, while Seungkwan and Dino's stated discharge date is April 25, 2028.

Key Points

• Seungkwan and Dino began Army service together on October 26, 2026, and will join the military band after basic training.
• Eight of Seventeen's 13 members are serving: five in the Army and three as social service agents.
• Jeonghan completed service in June 2026. S.Coups received a medical exemption, while Joshua, Jun and The8 are foreign nationals.
• Pledis asked fans to avoid training sites and said content prepared before enlistment would continue.
• Dino's "AUTOMATIC," written and composed with Jintae Ko, is scheduled for November 3 at 6 p.m.
• Seungkwan and Dino are scheduled to be discharged on April 25, 2028.