BTS: Suga aka Min Yoongi fined Rs 9.5 lakh in e-scooter drunk driving case

BTS member Suga aka Min Yoongi

BTS member Min Yoongi (stage name Suga), has been fined 15 million won (Rs 9.5 lakh) by a court for drunk driving while on an electric scooter. A judge at the Seoul Western District Court issued the fine in a summary judgment made last week after his case was referred to the prosecution, a court official said on Monday. This is the same amount the prosecution previously requested on September 11.

He is currently completing his mandatory military service in South Korea. On September 10, it was disclosed that Suga had been summarily indicted and fined by the Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul Western District Prosecutor's Office. The figure remained unconfirmed, and he has now received an official sentence, reported Korean news outlets.

BTS Suga let off with a fine in drunk driving case

The K-pop superstar was investigated for drunk-driving an e-scooter on August 6 in central Seoul. His blood alcohol level was 0.227 per cent at the time, three times higher than the 0.08 per cent for getting one's driver's license revoked.

Earlier this month, the 31-year-old rapper was given a summary order and prosecutors closed the case with the necessary penalties without opening up a trial. "We gave a summary order according to our standards of operation," an official from the prosecution told reporters without revealing the amount of the fine, reported Korean news outlets.

The Road Traffic Act stipulates that a drunk driver can be sentenced to more than one year and less than two years of prison or receive a fine of between 5 million won (USD 3,719) and 10 million won if the blood alcohol level is above 0.08 per cent. However, if the level exceeds 0.2 per cent, then the jail time can increase to more than two years but less than five years, and the fine can also be adjusted to between 10 million won and 20 million won.

What had happened in Suga's DUI incident?

It was reported that on the night of August 6, the K-pop idol was returning home in an electric scooter and after taking a sharp turn, he fell in front of his studio apartment in Hannam-dong. The songwriter and rapper made an apology for the incident calling it "careless and wrong behaviour" with police also revoking his licence for riding the e-scooter while drunk.

CCTV footage of the incident had surfaced in the media. On August 23, Suga was summoned by Yongsan Police Station for further questioning.