Military Manpower to inspect BTS’ Suga military service onsite

Police to question Suga on drunk driving incident

Suga of BTS (Big Hit Music)

The Military Manpower Administration is set to conduct an on-site inspection to check whether BTS’ Suga is faithfully performing his military service as a social service worker.

Suga of the world-renowned K-pop boy group BTS is also currently being investigated by the police for driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol.

On Aug. 6, Suga was caught by the police drunk driving an electric scooter in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gut, Seoul.

In Korea, electric scooters are classified as vehicles under the Road Traffic Act.

His blood alcohol concentration was confirmed to be 0.227 percent, significantly above the license suspension threshold of 0.08 percent.

According to local reports, the Seoul Regional Military Manpower Administration is expected to begin an on-site inspection next week at an organization in Yongsan-gu where Suga is currently serving as a social service worker.

The Military Manpower Administration plans to check whether the organization provided any special accommodations to Suga regarding his work attendance and if there were any illegal activities.

A representative from the Yongsan District Office will also be present at the inspection for a joint investigation, according to local reports.

“Details of the on-site inspection will not be disclosed to the public,” MMA deputy spokesperson Woo Tak-kyoun told The Korea Herald on Friday.

On Aug. 12, a civic group submitted a complaint through the National Petition System urging a thorough investigation into Suga's military service engagement and calling for strict measures.

The group criticized Suga, stating, “Despite his duty to faithfully perform his military service as a social service worker, he was found drunk driving. There is a possibility that he failed to perform his duties properly after drinking and that the service organization may have provided him with undue convenience.”

Under the current law, when a complaint is filed through the National Petition System, the relevant agency must respond within 7 working days.

The Military Manpower Administration extended the initial response deadline, originally due Wednesday, citing that it needed time to complete the on-site inspection.

The revised deadline for the second response has been set for Aug. 30.

Meanwhile, Suga is expected to be summoned for questioning by the police after his work hours this evening.

“We do not know the details but we are guessing Suga is being summoned on Friday evening after his work hours as the Korean National Police Agency announced during its regular briefing on Monday that Suga would be summoned for questioning sometime this week. As the police announced, the questioning will not be disclosed to the public,” an official from Hybe told The Korea Herald.

The official also added that there will not be an official statement from Suga or Hybe about the Military Manpower Administration’s investigation into Suga’s engagement in military service.

By Hong Yoo(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)