K-pop star Rain to face disciplinary action over lax off-duty conduct

 SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korean pop star Rain will face disciplinary action for violating terms of his 21-month mandatory¹ military service, the Defense² Ministry³ said Thursday, following revelations he has been dating a top actress while on leave.

The 30-year-old singer, whose real name is Jung Ji-hoon, has come under fire after paparazzi pictures showed him on dates with popular actress Kim Tae-hee several times last month in what was seen as a violation⁴ of regulations.

The K-pop star has reportedly received 71 days of vacation last year, while a regular enlisted⁵ soldier is supposed to get only 28 days of vacation during their two years of compulsory⁶ military service.

The media revelations touched off criticisms that celebrities⁷ who serve as "entertainment soldiers"receive special treatment, prompting the Defense Ministry to look into the matter. "It is true that corporal Jung Ji-hoon had private contacts on his way back to the barracks, which constitutes as a violation of military rules,"ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a press briefing.

All able-bodied South Korean men over 20 are required to serve in the military for about two years.

The bulky "Rainism" singer, who also starred in Hollywood movies "Speed Racer" and "Ninja Assassin," is one of the most successful K-pop stars with a massive following across Asia.

He will be discharged in July.

1 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

7 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目