Don't Rain on my parade!: Rain allegedly threatening to sue YouTuber for calling him stingy

Rain, also known as Jung Ji-hoon, is one of South Korea’s biggest pop stars.

(Image: TvN)

Born on 25 June 1982 in Seosan, South Korea, Rain entered into the k-entertainment industry in 2000 when he was recruited as a trainee by JYP Entertainment.

(Image: KBS2)

Did you know that Rain’s entrance into the industry in the year 2000 was a significant one? This is because it happens to be the same year of his mother’s passing.

(Image: Rain Company)

Rain also barely made it into JYP Entertainment as the agency was hesitant in recruiting him due to his ‘lack of good looks’. However, the agency relented at the last minute thanks to Park Jin-young, head of JYP, who recognised Rain’s determination in entering the industry and gave him a personal pass.

(Image: JYP Entertainment)

Rain initially debuted into the K-pop industry as a member of the boyband ‘Fanclub’ in 1998. However, the group was a commercial failure. Despite the setback, Rain persevered and later went solo with his solo debut four years later in 2002 with the release of ‘Bad Guy’.

(Image: JYP Entertainment)

Rain’s solo debut was much more successful as it earned him fame, enough to even be one of the hosts for KBS’ ‘Music Bank’ program during the years 2002 to 2003!

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Rain struck gold with the release of his third album, ‘It’s Raining’, in 2004. His titular song was a big hit in Asia and topped all the charts. This then was the start of his international stardom and iconic status as one of South Korea’s biggest pop stars!

(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Soon after that, Rain became known and famous across the entirety of Asia. Till today, Rain is still one of Asia’s biggest male popstars.

(Image: rain_oppa on Instagram)

Did you know that Rain also is an established actor? The star got into acting soon after his music debut and has since starred in several big productions – including some from Hollywood and China!

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Rain has appeared in ‘Sang Doo! Let's Go To School’, ‘Full House’, ‘Speed Racer’, ‘Ninja Assassin’, ‘For Love or Money’, and ‘Diamond Lover’.

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Despite his fame, Rain can not wash away some of the scandals he was involved in during his mid-career days.

(Image: rain_oppa on Instagram)

According to Insider, Rain and fellow K-pop superstar Se7en were caught visiting brothels back in 2013 while on military service. Despite claims from both stars that they were there just for a massage to treat ‘knee pain’, the army did not take their visit lightly and punished the two.

(Image: rain_oppa on Instagram)

Rain also happens to be a rather amorous celebrity. Koreaboo once put the star on a list of K-idols who have the most dating scandals to their name.

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In the same article from Koreaboo, some of the women Rain reportedly dated, include big stars in Korea such as Lee Hyori, Song Hye-kyo, Jun Ji-hyun and now-wife Kim Tae-hee.

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Rain’s involvement and courtship with the actress Kim Tae-hee also landed him in trouble. 'Time' reported that Rain would often break military law by having private meetings with the actress.

(Image: rain_oppa, kimtaehee99 on Instagram)

The dating news became a huge scandal, 'Time' reported, as it shed light on how Rain had violated other military rules beside shirking on army duty for love – and especially how Rain met with relatively light punishment in the aftermath.

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Many turned to criticize both the star and the army for showing preferential treatment to celebrities in the South Korean military during their mandatory service.

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In 2022, Rain became embroiled in a new scandal. Early in the year, 'Today' reported that the actor prepared to sue a YouTuber for defamation. It was big news as the accused, Lee Jin-ho, has quite the reputation in K-entertainment circles as a former entertainment news reporter.

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According to 'Today,' Lee Jin-ho had accused Rain of being stingy with money. He did so in a YouTube video with a compilation of stories from several people who had supposedly worked with the star.

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Lee Jin-ho cited that Rain would hold back on paying his portion for food during a night out. He would also lash at staff members for not finishing the food paid for by the star’s pocket. The video sparked outrage amongst netizens and many headed to Rain’s socials to criticize him for his alleged bad attitude.

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Hitting back at Lee Jin-ho and the wave of criticism since the video’s posting, Rain has responded by threatening legal action against Lee Jin-ho and the many netizens who have come forth to flame the star in his social media pages. 'Meaww' reports that Rain and his agency, Sublime Artists, have already taken steps to sue several parties for defamation.

(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Even though it is within his rights to sue, 'Today' reports that some netizens have criticized the legal move as an overreaction on part of Rain. Some have called the move “small-minded” and “unnecessary,” further shining a bad light on the already tainted star image of Rain.

(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Despite the bad press Rain is getting now, it is interesting to note that Rain and Kim Tae-hee reportedly slashed rental prices of tenants residing in their owned properties by 50% to help them cope with the COVID-19 financial slump. If this really happened, as '8days' reported in 2020, the accusations of Rain being stingy might actually be defamatory.

(Image: KBS2)