South Korean boyband BTS donates $1 million to Black Lives Matter

Popular South Korean band BTS donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter (BLM) in support of U.S. protests against police brutality, its music label, Big Hit Entertainment, told Reuters on Sunday.

On Thursday, the seven-member BTS wrote on its Twitter account that they are against racism and violence with the hashtag BlackLivesMatter:

"We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together."

The hashtag went viral among the K-pop group's fans and started another wave of donations with a new hashtag, MatchAMillion.

The movement encouraged BTS' fan base, known as ARMY, an acronym for Adorable Representative MC for Youth, to match the $1 million donation the group made.

One Twitter account said, "ARMYs, let's #MatchAMillion with BTS's donation to #BlackLivesMatter!"

The boyband suspended their world tour over coronavirus concerns in April. [nL3N2CG351]

The rolling, global protests reflect rising anger over police treatment of ethnic minorities, sparked by the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis after a white officer detaining him knelt on his neck.