BIGBANG‘s G-Dragon was previously rumored to not have been promoted in rank at the military because of too many missed days. He took 47 sick days, 76 vacation days, and missed 33 days for his ankle surgery. He was inactive for 1/3 of his total military days thus far.

However, an official from the military clarified that his attendance is not the reason for his lack of promotion. He didn’t expand more on the real reason as it was G-Dragon’s privacy, but confirmed that he will indeed be promoted over time. He also emphasized that G-Dragon has not been given extra time off for being a celebrity.

“The rumors claiming that [G-Dragon] didn’t get promoted because he took too many days off is untrue. We can’t reveal the details because it deals with his personal information. Even if you failed to be promoted, you’re automatically moved up in rank over time. Soldiers are allowed 30 days of sick leave every year. [G-Dragon] was also allowed the same amount of vacation days as the rest of the soldiers, so there is no issue.” — Army Official

A lawyer who is familiar with the laws governing active service was asked to clarify on the correlation between missed days and promotions. Lawyer Kwon Dong Ik explained that there is no correlation at all. It certainly does not have anything to do with G-Dragon’s recent lack of rise in rank because he was given the same amount of time off as any other soldier would have been allowed.

G-Dragon’s days in the military hospital for his illness is not counted as being inactive because it was an injury or illness that took place while on duty.

“The number of days off has no effect on promotions. If someone was promoted after missing more days than the standard amount of time given, then there would be a problem. Army officials have explained themselves that there has never been a case where someone was not promoted due to taking too many days off.” When a soldier has to be admitted to the military hospital while on active duty, whether it be due to an injury or an illness, their unit is changed to the military hospital. It isn’t counted as a vacation day. It’s counted as their days in service.” — Kwon Dong Ik Lawyer

As the rumors and controversy surrounding G-Dragon’s military service continues to grow, another news report claimed that G-Dragon was not excluded from promotions due to his sick days but because the physical fitness assessment took place while he was on leave.