PETALING JAYA, Aug 29 — Samsung Electronics is considering not extending the contract of Kpop Idol Suga from popular boyband BTS.

A source revealed to The Korea Herald on the condition of anonymity that Samsung however will not take immediate action to remove the from advertisements, as the contract remains between the brand and BTS, not just Suga.

“Unless he leaves BTS, Samsung cannot remove Suga from the promotion at the moment. The situation needs to be monitored a bit longer.”

It was reported by The Korea Times that the 31-year-old on August 6 was found alone on the ground in the posh Hannam neighbourhood after falling off his electric scooter while under the influence of alcohol.

A passing police officer had approached to assist him and detected the smell of alcohol, which led to Suga being taken to a nearby police station.

Subsequent breathalyser tests showed that Suga’s blood alcohol concentration warranted licence cancellation, at nearly three times over the legal limit.

Samsung Germany on August 17, deleted promotional photos of Suga holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra that were posted to its official X account on August 15 and 16 amidst debate on social media at home and abroad on whether it was appropriate to continue featuring Suga in ads.

Samsung and BTS began their partnership in February 2020 where the KPop phenomenon serve as a global ambassador for Samsung’s smartphone products, most notably leading to the release of the BTS-themed Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy Buds+ editions.

In August 2022, a collaboration video featuring BTS and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 was displayed on the iconic screens of Times Square in New York.

Suga himself made a surprise appearance at the Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul last year, further highlighting the partnership.

The star has shown special affection for Samsung products in his role as a brand ambassador, making headlines by declaring “No iPhone, only Galaxy” during his solo world tour concert in the US in April 2023.

He has also stated that he would only take selfies with fans using Galaxy phones.

The Samsung-BTS partnership was part of the leading appliances and consumer electronics company's strategy to leverage BTS’s global popularity and youthful image to appeal to a broader audience, especially the millennial and Gen Z demographics.