BTS Suga Drunk Driving Incident, Explained

The K-pop community has been up in arms after it was discovered BTS rapper Suga is under investigation for a drunk driving incident.

Suga has been conducting his mandatory military service since September 2023, working as a social worker. While in service, he is expected to act in a way that serves his nation for almost two years. With his discharge date reportedly to be in June 2025, fans expected Suga to lay low until he gets discharged.

Fans were understandably shocked when several South Korean news outlets reported that the BTS member was indicted on a DUI.

BTS Suga under police investigation for DUI

On August 7, 2024, it was reported that Suga was being investigated by police for driving an electric scooter after a night of drinking. Reports claim that on August 6, Suga was found on the streets by himself after falling off his electric scooter.

A police officer who had been patrolling the area was the one who found him and claimed he smelled of alcohol. He was then brought to a nearby police station. While it may seem tame that he was caught riding an electric scooter rather than a car, South Korea has seen a large number of accidents involving e-scooters since people can rent them on the streets via mobile apps.

Allegedly, the fatality rate for e-scooter traffic accidents is 5.6%, which is 4.3 times higher than the overall traffic accident fatality rate. In South Korea, e-scooters have similar traffic laws to that of cars.

In later reports, police stated that during his testimony, Suga complained about knee pain and claimed to have only driven for a short while after consuming one glass of beer. However, this is likely untrue. In another report, it was revealed that Suga’s breathalyzer test read somewhere between 0.08% and 0.2% Surpassing this percentage leads to one’s license being revoked, which is likely the case for Suga. The exact percentage was not made public.

BigHit Music and BTS Suga address drunk driving incident

Following the reports and international attention, Suga’s agency, BigHit Music, issued an official statement to BTS’s Weverse community board.

Hello, this is BigHit Music. We apologize for the incident involving BTS member Suga driving an electric scooter while intoxicated. On the evening of August 6, Suga drove an electric scooter home after drinking while wearing a helmet. He had driven approximately 500 meters before parking and falling. A police officer who happened to be nearby conducted a breathalyzer test, which resulted in Suga’s license being revoked and a fine being issued. Fortunately, no casualties or property damage occurred. The police escorted him home.

We apologize for disappointing many people with our artist’s regrettable actions. As a public figure, Suga’s actions were inappropriate and caused trouble in society. He plans to accept the appropriate punishment from his workplace. We promise to take greater care to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Thank you.

BigHit Music

Suga also took to Weverse to apologize to fans for the incident.

Hello, this is Suga. I feel immensely sorry and heavy-hearted to come to you regarding this disappointing matter. Last night, after having drinks with dinner, I rode an electric scooter home. I thought the short distance would be safe, and I didn’t realize that operating an electric scooter while drunk was against the law. With my actions, I violated traffic regulations. I parked in front of my home and fell over soon after. A nearby police officer conducted a breathalyzer test, resulting in my license being revoked and a fine being issued. Although no one was injured and no property was damaged, I take full responsibility for my actions. I sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt by my irresponsible behavior. I will be more careful in the future to prevent such incidents from occurring again.

BTS’s Suga

Soon after, Korea’s Office of Military Manpower Administration released a statement concerning Suga’s incident. They stated that the BTS member would not be facing any consequences or punishment, since the incident occurred outside of his working hours and does not damage the military’s image. For reference, service workers work a typical 9–5 schedule and are able to go home after, unlike those who enlisted as active duty soldiers.

Fans were outraged after Korean news outlet JTBC released CCTV footage of a different DUI incident involving a person driving a motorized scooter with a seat down a main road. They’ve admitted their error, as Suga’s incident involved a kickboard scooter—still extremely ill-advised but much less dangerous in terms of the type of damage it can cause.