Rain Refuses Military Leave: Damage Control Or A Sense Of Duty?
Actor and singer Rain is due to be discharged from his compulsory two-year military service on July 10 and although he had ten days of leave time, he decided not to use them. He chose instead to serve out his days as a public relations officer for the Defense Media Agency.
According to his entertainment agency, Rain's decision to turn in his leave was not made because of the latest scandal that he was involved in. Last week, the star of the drama "Full House" was seen drinking and dining with fellow PR officers and singers Sangchu of Mighty Mouth and Se7en while they were on duty. Sangchu and Se7en were then seen leaving an adult massage parlor a few hours later.
"He didn't choose this because of the recent controversy," said a representative from his agency, "He just wanted to turn in his leave and work hard until his release."
Netizens were not impressed by his decision, saying that his entire service has been a vacation and that he really ought to serve his time again. Choosing not to use his leave was described as damage control and some were shocked that he still had vacation time left.
The Rain-Sangchu-Se7en scandal angered many Koreans who believe that celebrity recruits get special treatment. Rain previously was criticized for the amount of time he took off from his military duties to spend with girlfriend actress Kim Tae Hee. For taking excessive time off, he was sentenced to seven days of confinement but many thought his sentence was too light.
The singer who appeared in the films "Speed Racer" and "I'm A Cyborg But That's Okay" was only recently cleared of charges stemming from a 2010 embezzlement scandal that led to the indictment of two executives at his record label J. Tune Entertainment. He was originally cleared in 2010 but the case was reopened after an investor in the company complained he and his partners had misused funds. One of the complaints against him was the amount he charged for modeling fees, which the investor considered excessive. The court did not rule his fees excessive.
While the singer has been involved in his share of scandals, he has also done some humanitarian work, helping to clean up oil spills, donating money to and participating in concerts for charitable causes. Unfortunately, the scandals tend to distract people from such efforts.
What are his plans after leaving the military? He has not made any decisions yet but his fans hope that his plans will include staying out of trouble. What do you think of Rain's decision?
