Rain blasted for ‘too much’ vacation in the military

Korean pop star Rain, who is serving his mandatory military service, has come under fire for getting “too much vacation.”

Criticism flooded the Internet as the 31-year-old singer’s romantic relationship with top actress Kim Tae-hee was revealed by local online media outlet Dispatch on Tuesday. Kim’s agency confirmed their relationship later in the day.

According to Dispatch, Rain and Kim went on dates every Sunday in December. The website claimed that Rain went on a four-day vacation starting Dec. 23, and had spent Christmas Eve with the actress.

Since the initial report was released, people have been raising questions about how Rain -- despite being a soldier who supposedly spends majority of his time in the barracks -- was able to have weekends off to go on dates.

“What I do not understand is, how is it that an active soldier can go on dates once a week?” posted an unnamed Twitter user.

Under Korean military regulations, a service member on active mandatory duty is entitled to a four-day vacation 100 days after enlisting, and nine-day vacations each time he is promoted. A soldier with exceptional performance is rewarded additional leave.

In the case of Rain, his corporal rank would have ensured him about 22 days outside the barracks, not taking into account vacations on merit.

In October 2012, it was revealed that his leave far exceeded that number. According to data made public by Rep. Lee Seok-hyeon of the Democratic United Party, Rain was given 62 days of vacation between January and October in 2012.

As of noon Wednesday, over 3,600 people had signed an online petition demanding that the military authorities make sure the singer does not get more benefits than he deserves.

The complaints, apparently coming mainly from people who had already finished their required military service, revived the recurring debate on whether those who belong to the special unit in the army composed of popular singers and performers enjoy too many privileges. Korean actors and singers, once they are assigned to the entertainer unit in the army, do not perform normal military tasks; instead, they regularly go on a stage in the military, which is their primary task.

According to government data in 2012, stars-turned-soldiers who served between November 2009 and September 2012 enjoyed 75 days of vacation on average, compared to regular soldiers’ 43 days. Other data from the Ministry of National Defense revealed that TV celebrity Boom, who was discharged in 2011, had 150 vacation days.

“Soldiers from the entertainer unit frequently go on stage within the military, so they get a lot of vacations on merit. It is only natural they get more vacation days than the regular soldiers,” an official from the Defense Ministry said.

By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)