Despite initial reports, it has since been discovered that this information was incorrect, leading to concerns over the overwhelming media attention.
On August 22, Big Hit Music confirmed to Sports Kyunghyang that the reports of Suga’s appearance at the police station today are false.
According to police sources, Seoul Shinmun reported on the evening of August 21 that Suga was scheduled to be questioned on August 22 for his DUI. It was anticipated that he would attend the questioning in private and without a photo line.
The agency’s rejection has sparked additional discussions on the necessity of the media’s extensive coverage. Of particular concern was JTBC’s “Newsroom”broadcast on August 7, which allegedly showed Suga riding an electric scooter on a street. However, it was later discovered that the footage did not actually include Suga.
After JTBC’s report, doubts regarding “downplaying the incident”and “misleading statements”grew even stronger, sparking widespread public condemnation. JTBC issued an apology on August 16th, but the inaccurate report, amplified by the widespread use of social media and YouTube, received a considerable amount of backlash.
Despite the widespread media coverage and public backlash surrounding Suga’s DUI incident, there is growing concern among netizens about the potential harm caused by unchecked misinformation. While acknowledging the gravity of Suga’s actions, they stress the importance of avoiding speculation and misinformation which could potentially hinder investigations and reporting.
In the previous year, actor Lee Sun-kyun encountered similar challenges after a local newspaper published drug accusations against him. Despite negative findings from forensic drug tests, this led to police inquiries. Lee Sun-kyun underwent three rounds of police questioning, dealt with numerous articles and speculative reports, and ultimately tragically ended his life in December of that year. The situation was further complicated by the release of internal police documents related to the investigation to the media, and an ongoing investigation is currently underway.
On August 6, Suga was caught driving drunk near his residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. According to initial reports, he confessed to having consumed a beer before getting behind the wheel. However, further investigations revealed that his blood alcohol concentration was 0.227%, far exceeding the legal limit of 0.08%. This could lead to a potential prison term of 2~5 years or a fine of 10~20 million won.
Along with concerns about Suga’s efforts to minimize the incident and the implications of his role as a public servant, the widespread fame of BTS has amplified the scrutiny surrounding Suga’s situation, both at home and abroad.
The article can be found on Nate at https://news.nate.com/view/20240822n27538?mid=n1008.
Leave a Reply