( CNN ) -- From unauthorized dates to drunken massage parlor trips , some of South Korea 's biggest K-Pop stars have been giving the military a bad name -- and now the top brass has had enough . In a country where the mandatory two-year military service for all males is a big deal , the suggestion that celebrity recruits have been enjoying preferential treatment has created a fierce nationwide backlash . In addition to leading the top trending subjects on all nationwide news portals , social media and news sites were swamped by angry user comments , while military barracks rumbled with soldiers ' complaints . So last week the Ministry of National Defense announced it would be scrapping its celebrity soldier unit . `` Although we initially formed the unit to promote the military , a number of unfortunate incidents damaged the public image of the military and lowered the morale of all the regular soldiers who are in the service , '' said the ministry 's vice-spokesperson Wi Yong-seob at a press conference . Preferential treatment . On January 1 this year , South Korea awoke to paparazzi photos that showed K-Pop star Rain was secretly dating top actress Kim Tae-hee . Rain landed himself in hot water because he was halfway through his military service and his secret liaisons involved special leave that is not given to regular soldiers , as well as civilian contact -- which is not permitted during duty . No more miniskirts in Seoul ? New law has Koreans buzzing . Last month , a local TV crew secretly taped a group of celebrity soldiers , including Rain and fellow K-Pop star Seven , drinking together in a private restaurant following a performance to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Korean War . Adding insult to injury , two of the celebs , Seven and Sangchu , then reportedly broke away from the group to visit an illegal massage parlor , which was also broadcast on national TV . The backlash was immediate and furious , with the public demanding disciplinary action and musing about the integrity of military service . `` This news about Seven and Sangchu is a sign of the lack of military discipline even during the 20-month service period . And so the degeneration of the military service will continue , '' tweeted well-known lawyer Choi Young-ho . In the barracks . Soldiers currently serving in the army were particularly disgruntled . `` The news made everyone very angry in the barracks , '' said Yoo-min Kim , 24 , whose army service ended in May . `` The question we were all asking was 'why do they get to have that kind of special treatment ? ' '' Some even questioned their entertainment value . `` What soldiers would like to see for those special concerts are the girl groups and not some male singer , '' said Kim Kwon , 29 , who was recently discharged from the Ministry of Defense . The fallout . With the closure of their unit , the 16 celebrity soldiers will be sent to regular military units -- with eight of them facing punishment for violating military rules . In the past , punishment for a similar offense ranged from reduced leave to a spell in a military jail . Two members are being deployed to units in the provinces -- which will come as a rude shock after their relatively cushy desk job in the capital . The history . First formed 16 years ago , the celebrity unit acted as the military 's public relations office , and was comprised of singers , actors and comedians who used their various `` skills '' in public capacities such as concerts for soldiers or military broadcasts . However , the issue of celebrities enlisting in the military has long been a controversial subject in South Korea . With the popularity of Korean entertainment soaring overseas , some say that the K-Pop stars and actors should be exempt from army service due to the substantial foreign revenue they bring into the country . In a similar vein , athletes are exempted from army service if they medal at the Olympic Games or win gold medals in the Asian Games . But it tends to be a more sensitive issue when it comes to entertainers . Famous cases . Psy is one of the most high-profile cases -- the `` Gangnam Style '' star famously repeated his two-year service in 2007 for negligence during duty in the form of private concerts and TV show appearances . The entertainer who started it all , though , was a Korean-American singer in the 1990s called Yoo Seungjun . The king of the K-Pop scene at the time , Yoo had voiced his eagerness to perform his military duty several times on television . But when the time actually came for him to enlist , the singer did an about-face and applied to become a U.S. citizen . The public felt massively betrayed and in a stunning move , the South Korean government deported Yoo and banned him from the country for life . `` Since the controversy involving Yoo , the issue of military service has been taken extremely seriously and people have stricter standards toward TV stars , '' Korean pop columnist Moon Han-pyeong told South Korean newspaper Joongang Daily . `` People think there should be no special treatment or exemption for any group . ''
Celeb unit acting as military public relations department for 16 years is being disbanded . K-Pop stars Rain and Se7en 's bad behavior at the center of controversial decision . Fierce nationwide backlash that meets any hint of special treatment .