It was Suga's first big scandal: BTS star caught intoxicated behind the wheel

Suga from the K-pop hit group BTS was a hot topic among fans and critics this summer. He got caught driving while intoxicated. This is the star's first big scandal since starting his mandatory military service in South Korea.

Suga is considered one of K-pop’s biggest stars due to him being a part of undoubtedly one of South Korea’s most popular K-pop boy bands, BTS. He is one of the group’s rappers.

Born Min Yoon-gi, Suga was born in Daegu, South Korea, on March 9, 1993. According to TenAsia, Suga was inspired to become a rapper after listening to music from Epik High, a South Korean hip-hop group.

Did you know?: Suga has been writing his own music since he was thirteen and started producing songs at seventeen, reports TenAsia. He had also been active as an underground rapper before achieving fame, rapping under the moniker ‘Gloss’.

SBS reports that Suga had initially joined Big Hit Entertainment, management of BTS, as a producer. However, he moved to training to debut in a boyband alongside future BTS members RM and J-Hope.

Suga is an integral part of BTS, as are all the members, as a rapper and music producer. As part of BTS, he has contributed to hit songs like ‘Butter’, ‘Just One Day’, ‘Dynamite’, and ‘Permission to Dance’.

Image: Big Hit Music

Suga also has a very successful career as a solo artist outside of BTS. Other than his music producing work for other artists, he has been involved in releasing solo music of his own and collaborating with other artists, with one being in ‘That That’ alongside South Korean sensation PSY.

Image: P Nation

As with all men in South Korea, Suga was not exempt from serving his mandatory military service despite his contributions to K-pop and took a break from the K-pop world to serve his country on September 22, 2023, reports Sports Chosun.

Suga has been involved in a DUI accident that occurred on August 6, 2024. AP News reported that the star was heavily intoxicated while operating an electric scooter on his way home after a social gathering.

As the BBC reports, Suga explained the situation to fans afterward. He said he had fallen off his electric scooter near home and caught the eye of a police officer who checked him for his alc0h0l levels. As it is illegal to operate an electric scooter while intoxicated in South Korea, Suga had his driving license revoked and was fined for the incident.

The same report from the BBC continued by stating that Suga and Big Hit Entertainment issued apology statements for the incident. Suga could expect military disciplinary action because the incident occurred while he was still an active agent. Ever since the incident happened, fans of BTS have called for Suga to leave the group, Allkpop and the Korea Times report.

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Suga's latest scandal has clearly hit some nerves as Allkpop reports that many upset fans have taken to hiring protest trucks on the streets of Seoul, calling for the removal of Suga from BTS.

However, not all K-pop fans were fully for a BTS without Suga. According to Variety, several BTS fans have also started an online petition to insist that the BTS lineup remain unchanged, with Suga remaining in the group.

Image: Big Hit Music

Suga's drink driving scandal has also gotten him into hot water with his ambassadorships, as Koreaboo reports that he was at risk of losing his ambassadorship with Samsung as a result of the scandal.

Thankfuly, it seems that Suga's ambassadorship with Samsung was saved as the brand chose to retain him, although it might have come from the efforts of angry BTS fans who threatened to boycott the brand if Suga was dropped, reports Koreaboo.

Korea JoongAng Daily reports that Suga's punishment for his drink driving scandal has finally been decided by the South Korean authorities. The star was penalised with only a fine. Typically, drink driving offenders can be penalised with not just a fine, but also a possible jail sentence of one to two years.