Minister Choi Hwee Young: "Ticket Scalpers Free-Ride on Creators' Value...Fines Up to 50 Times the Sale Price"

Enforcement Decrees of Revised Performing Arts and National Sports Promotion Acts Now in Effect

Obligations Strengthened for Businesses to Prevent Illicit Purchases and Sales

"A Historic Moment for the Performing Arts Industry... A Turning Point for Growth"

"Ticket scalpers are simply free-riding on the hard-earned value created by artists and are only disrupting market order. In the past, it was difficult to penalize the wrongful acts of scalpers, but under the revised Performing Arts Act and National Sports Promotion Act, anyone who illicitly sells tickets can now be fined up to 50 times the maximum sale price."

Hwee Young Choi, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, emphasized the eradication of ticket scalping with these remarks at the "Joint Public-Private Inspection Meeting to Prevent Ticket Scalping" held on the 28th at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Choi Huieyoung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is giving a speech at the joint public-private inspection meeting to prevent ticket scalping held on the 28th at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

From this day, the Enforcement Decrees of the Performing Arts Act and the National Sports Promotion Act—which lay out obligations for ticket sellers and online intermediaries, criteria for imposing penalties, and procedures for reward payments to whistleblowers—have taken effect. Earlier in February, amendments to these laws were passed at a Cabinet meeting to prohibit all illicit purchases or sales of tickets, regardless of whether macro programs were used, and to require businesses to implement preventive measures against wrongful conduct. With the enforcement decrees finalized, concrete legal and institutional mechanisms to eradicate ticket scalping are now in place.

According to the revised legislation, ticket sellers and online intermediaries must implement both technical and administrative measures to prevent illicit ticket purchases and sales. The enforcement decrees specify these requirements as follows: ▲ identity verification; ▲ operation of a reporting function; ▲ limiting the exposure of posts and providing notice of possible sanctions in the event of illicit transactions; and ▲ restricting post visibility in response to requests from designated reporting agencies.

Minister Choi further emphasized, "Anyone who illicitly sells tickets can now be fined up to 50 times the maximum sale price, and depending on the severity of the offense, prison sentences or additional fines may also be imposed. Whistleblowers may also be rewarded for their reports."

Under the revised laws, those who report illicit purchases may receive a reward of up to 50 million won. In cases of reporting illicit sales, whistleblowers can be awarded up to 50% of the penalty imposed on the violating party.

The meeting on this day included participants from 19 organizations, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Fair Trade Commission, the National Police Agency, major ticket reservation platforms and secondhand trading marketplaces, relevant associations, and ticket scalping reporting agencies.

Lee Kibum, Head of the Cybercrime Investigation Division at the National Police Agency, stated, "The revised Performing Arts Act and National Sports Promotion Act have made it possible to respond to ticket scalping in a more effective manner. We have established a system that enables everything from accepting reports, sharing electronic evidence, to immediate investigation."

On the 28th, Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, along with officials from the Fair Trade Commission, National Police Agency, major ticket reservation sites, secondhand trading platforms, related associations, and scalper reporting agencies, totaling 19 related organizations, held a joint public-private inspection meeting to prevent scalping at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Go Giho, Chairman of the Korea Popular Music Performance Industry Association, described the legal amendments as "a truly historic moment for the performing arts industry." He went on to stress, "To ensure that the illegality of ticket scalping becomes widely recognized at a national level, all relevant organizations should work together to create many examples of enforcement and prosecution. If scalping decreases, more audiences will be able to attend performances at face value, which will ultimately contribute to the growth and advancement of the performing arts sector."

Park Geun Chan, Secretary General of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), emphasized, "We will work to establish a clear responsibility structure through a division of roles between leagues and clubs and, instead of focusing only on post-incident crackdowns, take proactive preventive measures to maximize the effectiveness of these legal amendments."

Minister Choi asked all participating organizations to recognize that the success or failure of the system hinges on "public awareness," urging them to widely promote the key points of the anti-scalping law to the public and to actively cooperate in submitting materials requested by relevant authorities.

Furthermore, as an additional measure to eradicate ticket scalping, Minister Choi expressed an intention to amend the "Act on the Promotion of Movies and Videos" to address scalping issues in the film sector. He stated, "We plan to swiftly pursue amendments to the Act on the Promotion of Movies and Videos, reflecting calls from the field to close regulatory loopholes regarding movie ticket scalping, especially in specialized theaters where problems have recently surfaced."

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