K-pop idol group BTS member Suga apologized after he was fined and his driver’s license was revoked following a drunk driving incident in Seoul on Aug. 6. Suga, who is fulfilling his military service, got into an accident while driving his electric kickboard in Hannam-dong in Yongsan, Seoul.
Big Hit Music, BTS’ agency, issued an apology. BTS' Suga (Instagram) “We apologize for the electric kickboard accident involving BTS member Suga,” it said. The agency said on the night of Aug.
6, “Suga was riding an electric kickboard while wearing a helmet while drunk and returning home. After traveling about 500 meters, he fell over while parking, and was fined and had his license revoked after a breathalyzer test conducted by a nearby police officer. There were no casualties or property damages, and he returned home under police custody.
” “We apologize for disappointing many people due to our artist's inappropriate behavior. As a social service worker, he will receive any disciplinary action from his workplace regarding his actions that have caused social controversy. We will be more careful to prevent this from happening again in the future,” it said.
Suga took to the Weverse app to apologize. “I rode an electric kickboard home after drinking at dinner last night. I violated the road traffic laws because I thought it was a short distance and did not realize that I could not use an electric kickboard after drinking,” he said.
He added that he fell down alone while stopping his electric kickboard at the front gate of his house. A police officer was nearby and through a breathalyzer test, his license was revoked and was fined. “No one was harmed or any facilities were damaged during this process, but it is my responsibility and I have no excuses, so I bow my head and apologize to everyone,” he said.
He added, “I apologize to everyone who was hurt by my careless and wrongful actions, and I will be more careful in my actions so that this does not happen again in the future.” Suga was booked by the Seoul Yongsan Police Station. His blood alcohol concentration was found to be 0.
08 percent, enough to have his license revoked under the Road Traffic Act of Korea. A report by the Korea Times stated that the first person to discover the incident was a member of the 202 Presidential Police Security Corps, a unit that protects the area around the presidential office. The report added that according to the police, at about 11 p.
m. KST on Aug. 6, Suga fell down alone while riding an electric scooter near Nine One Hannam, a luxury residential complex in Hannam-dong.
An employee of the 202 Presidential Police Security Corps, who was patrolling nearby, found Suga lying on the road. When the employee picked up Suga, he allegedly smelled alcohol. When drunk driving was suspected, Suga was handed over to the nearest police station.
At the scene of the incident, the responding officers did not recognize that the driver of the electric kickboard was Suga. He is currently fulfilling his military service as a social worker. The incident will not likely result in the extension of his service period as it happened after work hours.
Korea’s Military Manpower Administration told Korean media, "For cases of negligence during working hours, he will be subject to status-related measures, but for work outside of working hours, the general criminal law applies." Under regulations for social workers, if a person drinks, gambles, engages in indecent behavior, or otherwise disrupts work discipline during work hours, an additional five days of extended service will be added for each warning. This only applies to work during work hours.
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