BTS member Suga (Min Yoon Gi) has made headlines for all the wrong reasons, following his recent DUI scandal.
According to Kyunghyang, when Suga was charged with violating the Road Traffic Act on August 6th, his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was found to be 0.227%, making it the highest recorded BAC among idols caught for drunk driving.
Under current laws, a BAC between 0.08% and 0.2% can result in 1 to 2 years of imprisonment or a fine between 5 million KRW (approx. 3,800 USD) and 10 million KRW. However, for those with a BAC above 0.2%, the penalties increase to 2 to 5 years in prison or fines between 10 million KRW and 20 million KRW.
Suga’s BAC of 0.227% is not only an alarming figure but also a new record for idols involved in DUI cases, adding to the list of unfortunate records in K-pop.
For context, previous high-profile idol DUIs include H.O.T’s Kangta (0.102% in 2000), Sechs Kies’s Eun Ji Won (0.072% in 2004), Shinhwa’s Jun Jin (0.065% in 2005), TVXQ’s Kim Jae Joong (0.071% in 2006), and Super Junior’s Kangin (0.082% in 2009). None of these cases, however, approached Suga’s level.
Experts note that a BAC of above 0.2% can result in severe impairments, including emotional instability, vision and hearing problems, and loss of motor coordination. At levels higher than this, symptoms can escalate to incontinence, vomiting, and even alcohol poisoning.
>> BTS Member Suga’s Past Actions Under Scrutiny Amidst Recent DUI Incident
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