BTS, Lim Youngwoong, and Pro Baseball Tickets 'Swept Up'... 35 Scalpers Caught Profiteering Up to 5 Times the Original Price

Targeted Popular Events, Sold 530 Million Won Worth of Tickets
Government Officials, Career Military Personnel, and University Students Also Involved

Ticket scalpers who used macro programs to bulk-purchase tickets for professional baseball games and popular concerts, then resold them at up to five times the original price, have been caught by the police. Among the suspects are government employees, career military personnel, and university students.

Online Scalped Ticket Sales Post. Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency

According to Yonhap News Agency on July 8, the Cyber Investigation Division of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency booked 35 individuals, including a man in his 30s referred to as Mr. A, without detention on charges of obstruction of business, violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, and violation of the National Sports Promotion Act.

Mr. A is accused of illegally purchasing approximately 6,000 tickets for baseball games and concerts from September 2024 to recently by using macro and 'direct-link' programs, and selling them at 1.5 to 5 times the face value.

A macro is a program that automatically enters IDs, passwords, and security codes, while a direct-link program allows users to bypass the ticketing queue and proceed directly to seat selection.

Mr. A used five accounts under his own and acquaintances' names to secure dozens of tickets at a time for popular professional baseball teams and postseason games. He also bought and resold tickets for concerts by famous artists such as Lim Young-woong, BTS, Psy, and Sung Si-kyung using the same method.

The police estimate that Mr. A earned approximately 530 million won through ticket sales, with net profits reaching about 390 million won.

The other scalpers are also accused of illegally purchasing dozens to hundreds of tickets per person and selling them at a premium. The total value of the tickets they sold amounts to approximately 270 million won.

Of the suspects caught, 26 are men and 9 are women, most of whom are office workers. The list also includes government ministry officials, career military personnel, homemakers, and university students.

Investigations revealed that some initially purchased the programs for 50,000 to 500,000 won simply to watch baseball games, but after realizing how easily they could secure popular tickets, turned to scalping. In some cases, they even used accounts under family members' names to circumvent purchase quantity restrictions.

The police launched their investigation after detecting large-scale online distribution of sold-out tickets during a 'special crackdown on crimes disrupting people's livelihood and inflation,' which began in March.

A police official stated, "Illegal ticket purchases and scalping deprive citizens of their fair opportunity to enjoy culture," adding, "We will continue to conduct crackdowns."

Meanwhile, starting August 28, when the revised National Sports Promotion Act takes effect, any illegal ticket purchase for the purpose of resale will be prohibited, regardless of whether a macro program is used. Offenders may face fines of up to 50 times the sales amount, and any unjust profits can be confiscated or collected.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.