BTS’ Jungkook breaks silence on controversial livestream: “I’ll exercise restraint”

Jungkook of K-pop boy band BTS has apologised to fans for his behaviour during a Feb 26 live stream, after the broadcast left the singer embroiled in public controversy.

At the time, the South Korean singer used an English profanity and made an obscene gesture directed at a friend who was off-screen, confessed to smoking in the past and talked about his dissatisfaction with his agency, BigHit Music.

When concerned fans advised him to end the live stream then, he responded by saying: “Don’t tell me what to do.”

On April 8, the 28-year-old conducted a live stream via the fan community platform Weverse and opened up about the previous incident.

“To be honest, I personally don’t know if I did anything seriously wrong during that recent live stream,” he said, “I am not a public official, and these are things that YouTubers and people working in this industry say all the time.”

Jungkook went on to admit he had not shown that side of himself until recently and acknowledged it might have caused fans to react negatively.

“I want to apologise to the ARMYs (BTS’ fandom) who felt uncomfortable in that regard, and I will exercise restraint in the future,” he said.

He also revealed what he felt about critical public opinion.

“I don’t want to say much to people who are just busy bashing everything,” he said. “Thank you for your attention, but it’s not my business if you get sued.”

Jungkook recalled that he was in a good mood during the Feb 26 live stream as BTS were preparing for their comeback.

“I don’t know how I would act in the future, but I won’t commit a crime or do anything truly bad, but as a human being, things like that can happen sometimes,” he said.

“I’m not a perfect person, but I’ve always been genuine with my fans. If you feel uncomfortable or think something is wrong, I hope you will point it out. I will take that to heart and accept it.”

BTS released their latest full-length studio album Arirang on March 20, marking the septet’s first full-group comeback in over three years. On March 21, they staged a free one-hour concert at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul.

They will embark on their Arirang world tour, which kicks off with three shows at South Korea’s Goyang Stadium on April 9, 11 and 12, with about 40,000 attendees a night.

Goyang, about 16km north-west of Seoul, has already turned into a purple-lit celebration zone ahead of the concerts, with landmarks such as Ilsan Lake Park lit up nightly in tribute to BTS and ARMY.

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.