BIGBANG Gdragon is making headlines in South Korea at the moment because of his current military status!
On February 26, Dispatch revealed a report that shocked netizens, they revealed that Gdragon still holds the title of “private first class.”
For a soldier to earn titles he must spend a certain period in the service and they move up the rank as the service period adds up: 3 months (private) – 7 months (private first class) – 7 months (corporal) –3 months (sergeant).
Gdragon joined the military back on April 5th, 2018 which means that he should be a ‘corporal’ right now; however, he remains with the title private first class.
According to a military affiliate, he was most likely unable to move up the rank because he was unable to pass the promotion evaluation. If you receive a total score of less than 70% you’re automatically omitted from getting promoted. 70% is not called an unsatisfactory evaluation score from the judging committee.
It is assumed he was omitted because of his frequent leave due to injury.
His injuries and the subject of his leaves from the military stirred controversy in the past before because he had taken a lot of leave days. However, back then the reason for his vacation days was explained to the press.
As of February 26, Gdragon has been in the service for 364 days however he spent about 100 days of them outside of his unit, this includes the military hospital. This means that he spent 1/3 of his military service outside of his unit.
It has also been revealed that Gdragon took over 50 days on annual and sick leave which is the maximum number of days allowed per year. He also spent 40 days in the military hospital receiving treatment for his injury.
Following the explosive report provided by Dispatch, the White Skull Division, (where he’s serving) was contacted. They revealed that it is true he is a private first class but won’t reveal any more details since it’s about his personal information.
An official also clarified that Gdragon’s personal vacation part is dismissed as a ‘no problem.’ The official stated,
“Kwon Ji Yong’s vacation days were conducted within the Army’s regulations in accordance with his personal circumstances, and there is no problem.”
The official also explained that Gdragon took 76 of his vacation days, 47 of those were used for medical illness and treatment. They also added that he will be automatically promoted after time passes.
This is currently a hot issue in the public eye, netizens aren’t happy about this, some bringing up the topic of preferential treatment for celebrities again.
YG Entertainment is yet to provide a statement.
