JTBC Apologizes for Incorrect Report on BTS Member Suga + Reactions from Korean Netizens

“In an article, “Newsroom”reported on August 7th that BTS’s Suga was involved in a drunk driving incident. The article initially included CCTV footage of a man riding an electric scooter on the road, but after a police investigation, it was confirmed that the man in the footage was not Suga. “Newsroom”would like to apologize for any confusion caused by our initial report.”

The article on Pann about this topic gained widespread attention, garnering nearly 85,000 views as of the morning of August 17th. Here are a few comments from Korean netizens.

As an ARMY, I recognize that Suga made a mistake. However, the issue at hand is not just his mistake, but also the irresponsible reporting by JTBC without proper fact-checking. The larger problem is that the public tends to accept such reports without critical thinking, and even when the media later corrects their errors, many people are unaware. Our efforts to seek corrections and apologies from JTBC and other outlets are not about protecting Suga, but rather holding the media accountable for their reckless behavior. This not only affects Suga, but also has a larger impact on society. Please refrain from criticizing us for advocating for the truth.

– It doesn’t matter to me. He’s still a drunk driver.

This is not the first instance of them targeting individuals in this manner. They have previously targeted a wide range of people, including politicians and celebrities like GD, Kang Hyung Wook, and now Suga. Their behavior is even worse than that of cyber bullies, as they are always ready to launch an attack without any regard for the truth.

As a result of this one news report, a significant number of individuals have come to falsely believe that the CCTV footage was of Suga.

Despite Suga’s mistake and deserving criticism for it, what is truly frustrating is the false attribution of footage from a news channel. This led to accusations of lying in Suga’s apology letter and caused even more damage. The question remains, is a simple apology truly enough to rectify the situation?

– An apology alone will not suffice. The situation has already escalated beyond control.

The source of this information is a post on the discussion platform Pann.