Minister Choi Hwi-young: "157 Ticket Scalpers Apprehended, 170 Referred for Investigation"

68,158 Scalping Cases Reported One Month After Law Implementation
"Bundled Ticket Sales Also Clearly Considered Scalping"

Yonhap News Agency

Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, announced on October 6 that 157 ticket scalpers have been apprehended just over a month since the revised Performing Arts Act and National Sports Promotion Act came into effect.

On this day, Minister Choi reported the results of the “Ticket Scalping Prevention Measures” at a Cabinet meeting to President Lee Jae-myung. Since the implementation of the law, 68,158 scalping cases have been reported. The government analyzed online posts and referred 170 individuals suspected of habitual ticket scalping to the police for investigation.

The revised Performing Arts Act and National Sports Promotion Act have been in force since August 28. The laws prohibit individuals from reselling performance and sports tickets at prices higher than the original purchase price for habitual or commercial purposes, regardless of whether macro programs are used. Offenders may be fined up to 50 times the amount of the illegal sales.

Minister Choi explained, “There are now newly emerging tricks where people sell baseball player photos and include a baseball ticket as a free gift,” adding, “according to legal counsel from the Ministry of Government Legislation, such bundling tactics are also considered clear acts of ticket scalping.”

The ministry also plans to respond to ticket scalping conducted through overseas platforms. Minister Choi stated, “We are preparing countermeasures such as designating domestic agents for foreign platforms and strengthening international cooperation,” and added, “We will also look into blocking accounts involved in scalping and consider further improvements to the system.” The ministry plans to increase the number of personnel dedicated to handling scalping reports.

In preparation for the upcoming professional baseball postseason, on-site crackdowns will also be stepped up. Minister Choi said, “As this is the first postseason since the law was amended, we will carry out extensive on-site inspections in cooperation with the National Police Agency.”

President Lee emphasized, “If ticket scalping is left unchecked, it becomes a serious social problem,” and called for special attention to be paid to the issue.

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