The dust has finally settled after DongA Ilbo released the real CCTV footage of SUGA riding an electric kickboard and collapsing in front of his house.
On August 7, shortly after the news of SUGA’s drunk driving incident went viral, JTBC released an exclusive footage, where the rider, presumably SUGA, was seen riding an electric scooter and speeding on the road.
Due to the false CCTV footage, the Haegeum rapper and BIGHIT MUSIC received a lot of backlash for not stating the facts and downplaying the incident by using the term ‘electric kickboard.’
BIGHIT MUSIC even apologized for making the first statement in haste, without confirming the facts.
A week later, on August 14, a new CCTV footage was released by Yonhap News, where the rider was seen collapsing on the sidewalk. This led to severe backlash from netizens as the initial statement by SUGA and BIGHIT MUSIC claimed that he fell in front of his house.
However, the CCTV footage was soon proven to be false as the rider was driving in the opposite direction to SUGA’s location.
Finally, CCTV footage that cleared all the allegations was released by DongA Ilbo, where SUGA is seen riding an electric kickboard with a seat attached to it. Despite being drunk, he was riding the kickboard quite carefully, almost at a walking speed.
In addition, it also revealed that SUGA indeed fell in front of his home, and was approached by three police officers, who conducted a breathalyzer test after detecting the smell of alcohol.
Since CCTV footage confirms the scooter driver is not SUGA, JTBC Newsroom has removed or privatized all related footage from YouTube and official channels.
Addressing the backlash, a representative from JTBC Newsroom stated that they are currently checking the facts regarding the false CCTV footage.
Fans have been criticizing JTBC and Yonhap News for damaging his reputation and releasing false CCTV footage.
On August 6, around 11:10 PM, the 31-year-old rapper was stopped by police near his home in Hannam-dong, Seoul, after losing balance while riding an electric scooter under the influence. With a blood alcohol level of 0.227%, he was deemed intoxicated. SUGA took responsibility, stating that he mistakenly thought the distance was short and was not aware that he could not ride an electric kickboard while drunk.
The police have initiated proceedings to revoke his driver’s license and are scheduling an investigation.