April 2, WINNER's Jinwoo Joins The Military

WINNER's Jinwoo (Photo: YG Entertainment)

JAKARTA - Just a day after releasing the music video for Hold, Inner Circle (as WINNER fans) was surprised by a letter from Kim Jinwoo, one of its members who is about to carry out military service.

Through the letter, the oldest member of the group confirmed that he would enlist in the military on April 2. The letter was distributed via the WINNER fan club site.

Jinwoo enlisted as a public worker during his mandatory military service and will begin four weeks of basic training.

In his letter, he promised to be healthy and courageous so that fans would not worry even though the corona virus or COVID-19 was currently an important issue in the world, including South Korea.

“We still have a great time so smile and cheer! Even though I can't pay what I received, you know that Inner Circle is always number one in my heart, right? Hehe, "wrote the letter.

He asked fans to look after the WINNER members' younger siblings who would still have careers before the time came. With Jinwoo leaving for the military, it has been difficult for WINNER to perform fully for the past two years.

They recently released the music video and song for the pre-release track entitled Hold. This song will be the opening for their latest album titled Remember which will be released on April 9th.

In this album, the four members --Mino, Jinwoo, Seunghoon, Seungyoon-- played a big role in writing and composing the song. Last year, Jinwoo also officially became a solo singer by releasing the song Call Anytime, which he made with Mino.

WINNER and YG Entertainment said that this comeback would be the last before the oldest members - Jinwoo and Seunghoon - enlisted in the military. After knowing the date for Jinwoo, Seunghoon has not announced the date for his mandatory military service.

They tried to entertain fans who canceled meeting with WINNER because of the corona virus pandemic by holding online appearances and a series of promotions for the Remember album, through an event titled Hold a REMEMBER Party. This event can be watched via the VLive streaming service on March 30.

Meanwhile, WINNER Power still seems to be great. After releasing Hold, they immediately sat at number one on the South Korean charts. Song Hold also reached the top ranks on various international iTunes charts.