BigHit Music accused of minimizing harm in Suga DUI case with scooter classification loophole

Social Affairs

BigHit Music accused of minimizing harm in Suga DUI case with scooter classification loophole

Published: 08 Aug. 2024, 13:51 Updated: 08 Aug. 2024, 19:40

CCTV footage of Suga driving a scooter in Yongsan District, central Seoul on Aug. 6 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Surveillance camera footage showed Suga of boy band BTS driving a seated electric scooter, not an electric stand-up scooter like his agency said, raising suspicions that the rapper's agency was trying to minimize his offense.

Suga was investigated for driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol near his home in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday, the singer and his agency said Wednesday in an apology letter. According to the letter, he had his driver's license revoked and was fined.

Police have, however, revealed that the vehicle that Suga was driving was a scooter with a seat attached. CCTV footage released by JTBC on Wednesday showed the singer driving what the media outlet has described as a "foldable electric scooter."

The vehicle has come into the spotlight, as what was said by BTS's agency to be a stand-up scooter — known as a "kickboard" in Korea — has been shown in the footage as a scooter with a seat, which can carry a heftier penalty.

Drunkenly driving a seated electric scooter — which has a maximum speed exceeding 25 km/h (15.5 mph) and a higher displacement — can additionally incur fines of up to 20 million won or imprisonment of up to five years.

In BigHit Music's apology on Wednesday, it mentioned Suga was only driving a stand-up scooter nearby his home. After being questioned over the scooter type, the agency says it was not "trying to minimize the accident," according to an additional statement Thursday morning.

"We realized that the vehicle is categorized differently depending on the size and performance, and the scale of legal responsibilities could change accordingly," said the agency. "We will fully abide by the responsibilities depending on how authorities decide on the type of the vehicle."

The agency also apologized for stating that Suga's case was closed in the initial apology letter. Although the singer was sent back home after being investigated on Tuesday, additional legal procedures and investigations by the police remain.

"Both our company and the artist mistakenly understood the matter to be concluded, without realizing that further procedures remain," said the agency. "In light of the seriousness of the issue, we apologize for conveying incorrect information due to an internal communication error."

Suga is currently fulfilling his mandatory military service as a social service agent, a role that typically involves a regular daily work schedule, allowing him to return home after work hours. The BTS member is scheduled to complete his service in June next year.

"[Suga] was caught by the police driving under the influence after working hours and is expected to be punished according to the Road Traffic Act and other relevant laws," the Military Manpower Administration said Wednesday. The administration stated Suga will not face additional punishment regarding the social service agent code of conduct.

Suga said in the 2018 BTS documentary "Burn the Stage" and his song "The Last" (2016) that he sustained a shoulder injury in 2012 when he was involved in a traffic accident while doing a part-time delivery job on a motorcycle. The BTS member had to undergo surgery in 2019 and couldn't participate in group activities at the time.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]