Mino from boy band Winner will start his mandatory military service as a social service agent on March 24, his agency YG Entertainment announced Thursday.

“Song Min-ho will start his alternative service as a social service agent starting on March 24,” the statement released by the agency reads.

“To prevent any potential accidents from large crowds, no separate event will be held on the day of enlistment,” the agency added.

In Korea, all able-bodied young men are required to serve around one and a half years in the military. Men who get a lower grade four on their physical evaluation can substitute their military service by working as a social service agent at a public institution for 21 months, unless they otherwise volunteer for active duty.

Mino debuted as a rapper in the boy band Winner in 2014. Prior to his idol debut, Mino was also active in the amateur underground rap scenes, forming a group with Zico and Park Kyung, who would later debut as the boy band Block B. He was also active as the rapper for the ballad boy band, BoM, which disbanded in 2013. Mino also came as the penultimate winner for the Mnet’s hip-hop audition program “Show Me The Money 4” in 2015.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]