According to the initial reports, BTS Suga was taken to the Yonhap Police Station on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 (KST). He was “by himself, fallen off the kickboard and on the streets” when the police came across him. As the officials approached him to help they smelled alcohol on the singer and booked. However, the case got complicated with new findings in the reports.

Complete breakdown of BTS Suga’s DUI case

In South Korea, where electric kickboards require a driver's license and strict adherence to traffic laws, rapper Suga was involved in a DUI case after falling off his kickboard due to alcohol. A breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was above the 0.08% limit.

Suga claimed he had experienced knee pain and had only consumed one glass of beer before briefly riding the kickboard. BigHit Music, BTS’ representative company, subsequently issued an official statement apologising for the artist’s act and confirmed that his license was revoked and he was fined. Suga also posted an apology on the Weverse platform.

However, the case escalated with the revelation that the model Suga was driving was not an electric kickboard but an electric scooter with a seat or a Korean equivalent of a scooter bike. The report from Yonsan also suggested that no fine or revocation of license has been imposed yet, contradicting the BigHit company and Suga’s apology statement.

The ARMY argued that this mishandling of the case initially was because of Suga’s status as a K-pop celebrity. However, the police department said that when they found the rapper they did not recognize Suga as a member of the globally famous group BTS at the time of the incident”.

BigHit downplays Suga’s DUI incident

While the international ARMY debated over whether it was a serious offence, the Korean ARMY condemned BigHit for the downplay of Suga’s DUI case. On August 8 (KST), Big Hit issued another apology statement for their previous oversight and assured they did not mean to “downplay” the incident.

On August 9 (KST), according to Dispatch, the Yongsan station stated that Suga’s vehicle was not a Personal Mobility device and was categorised as a “motorised vehicle”. The Daechwita singer will now face a criminal investigation similar to that of an automobile DUI case. Later in the evening, according to Donga Ilbo, the blood alcohol concentration in Suga’s body was recorded at 0.227% which is eight times higher than the limit set at 0.03% in Korea.

There has been no comment or statement from Suga or BigHit on the new BAC revealed or the former’s license being revoked.

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