Some netizens want Rain back in military By Baek Byung-yeul Singer Rain Rain, pop singer and tabloid magnet, completed his two-year compulsory national duty last month amid accusations that he coasted through it. Now, some Internet users want to boot Rain back to boot camp. The 31-year-old singer, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, ended up being the last entertainer to be discharged as an ''entertainment solider.’’ A week after Rain finished service, the Defense Ministry last month scrapped the position, which had allowed entertainers to serve in the Defense Media Agency and engage in military television and radio programming, as criticism grew over special treatment of these celebrities. The entertainers who had served in the unit were relocated to Army field units. Military officials had hoped that their knee-jerk decision would stem the controversy. However, accusations continue to rain down on Rain. In a recent conversation with reporters, Kim Kwang-jin, a lawmaker of the opposition Democratic Party, questioned whether the Defense Ministry had catered too much to the entertainers in hopes that they would promote a positive image of the military. Rain didn’t even need to submit the required paperwork in 2011 to enlist as an entertainment solider, although the competition between singers and actors to be picked as one was fierce, Kim said. Then the lawmaker apparently got carried away and wondered whether the Defense Ministry should correct the wrong by forcing him to go through another 21-months in uniform. Kim tried to downplay his comments, but only after all hell broke loose on social media.  The online comments boiled over to a point where the Defense Ministry was forced to issue a statement saying that, no, Rain won’t be forced to approach his mid-30s in a barrack. “Rain finished his service legitimately. When it was found that he took more leaves than he was allowed to meet actress Kim Tae-hee in January, he was disciplined properly,’’ said a ministry official. ''From his enlisting to discharging, everything regarding Rain’s service was handled justly under military service act. It would not be valid to reenlist him.’’ The controversy over entertainment soldiers was stocked by a SBS in-depth news program in June. Its cameras caught singers Seven (Choi Dong-uk) and Sangchoo (Lee Sang-cheol), who were serving in the same unit as Rain, visiting a massage parlor after midnight following a performance at a function in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, the previous evening. Rain wasn’t at the parlor, which doubled as a brothel, but drank with Seven and Sangchoo until 10 p.m. the previous night, breaking curfew In January, Rain was caught taking more days off than he was allowed to as he met with his love interest, actress Kim Tae-hee. After being exposed by the media, Rain was placed under probation for seven days.