Seoul - South Korea's Defence Ministry has decided to confine pop star Rain to his base for a week for meeting with an actress while on duty.
The penalty is the lightest a South Korean soldier can face. Paparazzi photos recently showed him with actress Kim Tae Hee when he was not allowed to have private meetings while outside his base for official duties such as recording and performing.
The decision was made by a disciplinary committee at the army entertainment corps, to which Rain, 30, belongs. A ministry spokesman said the singer's offence was failing to obey a senior officer, the Chosun Ilbo reported. "Rain was told not to have private meetings while on military duty and is being punished for failing to obey the order," the spokesman added.
The ministry said Rain left his base, citing official duties, on Nov 23, Dec 2 and 9 to work on a song for a military event in Gangnam. On all three occasions he met Kim, 32, after working on his music and apparently was dropped off in front of his base in her car.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on January 10, 2013. For similar stories, go to sph.straitstimes.com/premium/singapore. You will not be able to access the Premium section of The Straits Times website unless you are already a subscriber.