Painfully sorry: Suga arriving at a police station for questioning regarding his drunk driving charge, in Seoul, on Aug 23. The rapper has already had his driving licence revoked following the incident. — Reuters
A member of K-pop megagroup BTS was hit with an US$11,400 (RM47,000) fine – almost the maximum possible – for driving an electric scooter while drunk, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Suga, 31, was discovered lying on the ground next to his escooter by police late at night on Aug 6, with a blood alcohol level well over the legal limit.
The rapper, who is currently performing mandatory military duties as a social service agent, has already had his driving licence revoked.
The Seoul Western District Court “imposed a 15 million-won fine on the 31-year-old artiste, whose legal name is Min Yoon-gi, last Friday, a sentence that is identical to the prosecutors’ request”, Yonhap said yesterday, citing legal sources.
Police have said Suga’s blood alcohol level was 0.227% – nearly three times what is permitted by law.
Driving with a blood alcohol level over 0.2% can result in a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine of up to 20 million won (RM62,800) under the South Korean Road Traffic Act.
Seoul’s Military Manpower Administration has said that Suga will be punished according to the traffic law, not military law, as the incident happened outside of his official working hours.
In late August, Suga wrote a handwritten apology, saying he had “tarnished” the boy band’s name.
“I have left a large blemish on the precious memories I made together with my members and our fans, and I have tarnished BTS’ name,” he wrote.
Suga added that he made a “grave mistake” and he is “painfully sorry”.
The seven members of the boy band have been on a self-described “hiatus” since 2022 due to their military service, which South Korea requires of all men under 30. — AFP
