As Rain greeted the crowd of 800 fans, well-wishers and members of the press gathered in Seoul on Wednesday morning to celebrate the star's completion of 21 months of mandatory service in the South Korean Army, he did not linger.
"I was [issued an honorable] discharge on July 10, 2013," Rain told the crowd. "Thank you for coming. I′ll do my best to work hard."
After thanking the fans, many of whom held up signs saying "we waited for you," and "Rain's coming," according to the Star Tribune, Rain, in full dress uniform, gave a final salute and left.
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The star, who had served as a public relations (PR) officer in the army, had to go somewhere to go that was important to him, a representative for the actor told eNEWS.
"Right after his release, he plans to visit his mother′s grave at the Byeokje Memorial Park in Gyeonggi-do Goyang-si," Rain's representative said.
"For the next few days he will spend time with his family."
All eligible males between the ages of 18 and 35 must enroll for roughly two years of army service in South Korea (the length of mandatory enrollment changes by several months depending on which branch of the military that they serve in) in a practice known as conscription.
Rain was nearly caught up in a scandal that rocked the South Korean army's Defense Media Agency, after a camera crew from the television program "Scene 21" captured footage of singers Se7en and Sangchu of the group Mighty Mouth, both currently serving as army PR officers, entering an erotic massage parlor on the same evening.
Other officers from the army's public relations department, a longtime bastion for celebrity soldiers, were seen wandering the streets out of uniform and consuming alcohol freely after performing at an army-sanctioned concert.
The footage rocked the Ministry of National Defense, who ordered a full investigation of the public relations officer program, a longtime bastion for celebrity soldiers serving out mandatory enlistment terms.
Last week, the Ministry of National Defense announced that Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji Hoon, was cleared of any possible charges arising from the "Scene 21" footage.
"We've come to the conclusion that Sergeant Jung [Rain] was not in the wrong for his actions on the day of the incident," the Ministry of National Defense spokesperson said.
"He will be relieved of his duties on July 10."
