Suga, who was fined for drunk driving, was excluded from BTS' achievements… Fandom protests

The fandom of the group BTS is protesting against 'MMA 2024'.

At the '2024 Melon Music Awards (MMA 2024)' held at Incheon Inspire Arena on the 30th, a VCR containing BTS' acceptance speeches was released.

The video shows BTS members giving their acceptance speeches and performances on stage at 'MMA 2024' after winning awards every year from 2016 to 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

However, while the video showed the acceptance speeches of members Jin, RM, J-Hope, V, Jimin, and Jungkook multiple times in addition to the full BTS image on stage, the acceptance speech of Suga, who was fined for drunk driving, was not included. As a result, some fans who support Suga within the BTS fandom and overseas fandoms are continuing to protest against Suga's exclusion.

Some fans are protesting to Melon, the music streaming site that hosted 'MMA 2024', saying, "It is disrespectful to exclude BTS members from the MMA VCR that honors their legacy," and "Respect all members."

However, some fans who could not accept this are demanding that Melon re-release the VCR that includes an apology to Suga and his acceptance speech.

Previously, after the drunk driving controversy broke out in August, Suga was excluded from an advertisement video for a domestic voting app, which led to protests from fans. In addition, on the JTBC entertainment show 'Tokpawon 25 Hours' aired in September, he visited a hot meat restaurant in New York's Koreatown.

During the introduction of the Hall of Fame, which displays plates engraved with the names of various world stars who visited the restaurant, unlike the groups Blackpink, John Legend, and David Beckham, BTS was edited and broadcast so that the group name BTS was displayed in subtitles due to Suga's drunk driving controversy, and images were not posted like the other stars.

Last August, Suga was found by the police after collapsing on an electric scooter while riding home after drinking in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The breathalyzer test results showed that Suga's blood alcohol level was 0.227%, and on the 23rd of the same month, 17 days after being caught for drunk driving, he appeared at the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul for questioning at 7:44 PM and admitted to the drunk driving charges.

After that, Judge Lee Yu-seop of the 7th Summary Division of the Seoul Western District Court issued a summary order on September 27 to fine Suga, who was charged with drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act, the same amount as the prosecution's request, 15 million won. The fine is a punishment that is directly handed down by the court through a judgment or summary order, so it is recorded as a criminal record. In addition, the electric scooter that Suga drove is a personal mobility device that requires a license, so it is subject to criminal punishment under the Road Traffic Act in the same way as a car for drunk driving.

Big Hit Music and Suga, the agency, have only released a second statement and an apology, and have not made any specific statements regarding Suga's future plans.