However, it has been revealed that this was not accurate, raising concerns about the excessive media frenzy.
Big Hit Music clarified to Sports Kyunghyang on August 22 that the reports of Suga appearing at the police station today are not true.
On the night of August 21, Seoul Shinmun reported, citing police sources, that Suga had been scheduled for questioning on August 22 regarding his DUI, and it was expected that he would appear privately without a photo line.
The agency’s denial has sparked further debate about whether the media’s intense coverage is unwarranted. Particularly concerning was JTBC’s “Newsroom” report on August 7, which included footage supposedly showing Suga riding an electric scooter across a street. However, it was later revealed that the footage did not feature Suga.
JTBC’s report intensified suspicions of “minimizing the incident” and “false statements”, leading to increased public criticism. JTBC apologized on August 16, but the erroneous report, given the global interest and the influence of SNS and YouTube, drew significant backlash.
Many netizens have expressed concern over the heated media coverage and excessive public complaints regarding Suga’s DUI incident. They argue that while Suga’s actions were wrong, unchecked misinformation could cause further confusion and complicate investigations and reporting.
Last year, actor Lee Sun-kyun faced similar issues when drug allegations were reported by a local newspaper, leading to police investigations despite negative results from forensic drug tests. Lee Sun-kyun underwent three police interrogations, faced numerous articles and speculative reports, and ultimately tragically took his own life in December last year. The case was further complicated when internal police documents related to the investigation were leaked to the press, and an ongoing investigation is in progress.
Meanwhile, Suga was caught driving under the influence near his home in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on August 6. It was reported that he admitted to drinking a beer before driving, but subsequent reports indicated a blood alcohol concentration of 0.227%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%. Exceeding a BAC of 0.2% could result in a prison sentence of 2~5 years or a fine of 10~20 million won.
In addition to suspicions of downplaying the incident and issues related to Suga’s status as a public service worker, the global popularity of BTS has heightened the attention on Suga’s case both domestically and internationally.
