BTS’s Suga Flamed For “Self-Serving” Apology Amid DUI Scandal
In his apology, Suga refers to the electric scooter as an electric kickboard. Yongsan Police Station has since clarified that Suga was driving an “electric scooter with a seat,” not an electric kickboard. Suga has now issued a second apology, and the police investigation into his drunk driving incident has ended.
BTS‘s Suga apology on Weverse is being heavily criticized.
On August 7, Suga apologized for his drunk driving controversy on his Weverse account. The apology is translated in full below.
Hello, this is Suga. I’m feeling extremely heavy-hearted and sorry to have to come to you over such a disappointing matter.
I rode an electric kickboard home last night, after having drinks with dinner. I thought that it was a close distance, and I did not realize that I could not operate an electric kickboard after drinking. As such, I violated traffic rules. I parked in front of the main gates to my home, and in that process, I fell over by myself. Police was nearby, and through the results of a breathalyzer test, my license was revoked and I paid a fine. Although no one was hurt, and no property was damaged, this is inexcusably something I have to take responsibility for, and I apologize to everyone.
I apologize to those who were hurt by my irresponsible and inappropriate behavior, and I will be even more careful with my actions to prevent such matters from occurring in the future.
— Suga
Netizens reacted to the apology with scathing criticism.
- “His apology makes this even worse.”
- “Even his apology sucks.”
- “I hate the fact that his and HYBE’s apology emphasizes that there weren’t any victims who were harmed. If there were no victims, does it make it okay to drive drunk?”
- “I hope he takes this seriously. Two of my acquaintances had their licenses revoked due to driving the kickboard drunk. You need a license to drive this, but how are Middle School couples driving them? We need to get rid of kickboards entirely.”
- “There are idols who had their licenses revoked, and they didn’t hit anybody, lol. But they didn’t get away with it with just an apology.”
- “Didn’t have any victims, but…”
- “I mean, why is he adding unnecessary words (that there weren’t any victims)?”
In South Korea, electric kickboards are only available to rent with a license and drivers are bound to many of the same traffic laws as other motor vehicles. According to a report by SE Daily, e-scooters’ fatality rate for traffic accidents is 5.6%, 4.3 times higher than the overall traffic accident fatality rate.
