Highlight's Son Dong-woon will be policeman for 21 months

By Dong Sun-hwa

Highlight's Son Dong-woon started his mandatory service as a policeman on Thursday. Capture from Son's social media account

Son Dong-woon, a member of K-pop boy band Highlight, started his 21-month mandatory military service as a conscripted policeman on Thursday.

“Son will start Thursday. He will first participate in basic training for four weeks and enter the police academy,” his agency Around US Entertainment said. “We will not make public the time and location of his enlistment following his wish.”

The singer, 28, also posted a handwritten letter to his followers.

“I am sorry because I cannot cheer you up with new music for the time being,” he wrote. “But I will work harder to do so after I come back. Please take care of yourself and let's meet again soon.”

Son also revealed some photos after having his hair cut short.

He is the last member of Highlight to serve. Three others ― Yoon Doo-joon, Yang Yo-seob and Lee Gi-kwang ― have already begun their duty.

Son debuted as a member of BEAST in 2009. The band rose to fame with several hit tracks including “Fiction.” He and four other members ― Yoon, Yang, Lee, and Yong Jun-hyung ― did not re-sign with the agency Cube Entertainment and formed Highlight in 2017. But Yong left the team in March when a scandal erupted over watching the illegal sex video shared by singer Jung Joon-young and having an “inappropriate” conversation about it.