It seems that these days, BTS and the government have many related stories. But what is more special, perhaps only BTS can make the government fall into the situation of having to speak up because of the controversy surrounding it.
After the press reported a lot about the case that a foreign ministry official had offered to sell Jungkook's hat at an exorbitant price, today, the Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs made an official statement about this. This is probably the first time that news related to a K-pop star has prompted the State Department to open an internal investigation.
Specificially, when appearing at the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit hearing at the National Assembly building in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, on Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Park Jin gave his answer to the question about these stuff related to BTS Jungkook hat.
Foreign Affairs Minister Park Jin said that his ministry is "conducting an internal investigation" into the claims that one of its employees illegally obtained BTS member Jungkook's hat and attempted to sell it online. He stated at the same time that: "If the claims are true, the ministry plans to strictly handle the issue in accordance with the relevant regulations. However, it is difficult to discuss specific details about the investigation because it involves personal information."
Park also did acknowledge that they have pinpointed a suspect. Then the information about this person working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is absolutely correct. If this is really the identity of this person, then this is unacceptable behavior.
On Oct. 17, a netizen claiming to be a full-time employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attempted to sell a bucket hat allegedly belonging to BTS member Jungkook on the online flea market platform Bungae Jangteo. As proof that the person was an employee at the ministry, the seller uploaded a picture of an employee ID, with the picture of the face covered.
The price set by the netizen was 10 million won ($7,000). In the post, the seller even wrote: "When BTS members visited the Passport Division to create diplomatic passports, Jungkook left this bucket hat in the waiting area. After reporting the hat as lost property, we waited for six months, but there was no phone call or visit to acquire the hat. Therefore, the person who found the hat now has ownership.”
The post infuriated BTS fans, condemning the seller that he or she has no right to claim ownership of the hat and sell it online for such an outrageous price. Shortly after the controversies, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that BTS members did visit the ministry's building last year, but said that there was no record of any lost property.
Under the Korean law, taking ownership of lost property without notifying the police is a crime that can be sentenced by up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 3 million KRW. The post has since been deleted, but the severity and popularity of the incident prompted officials to immediately step in. ARMYs previously joked that the hope of these people returning Jungkook's hat soon seems that their wish will come true.
