First Investigation Requested for 170 Suspected Ticket Scalpers... 11,000 Tickets and 1 Billion Won in Attempted Sales

121 Suspects in Professional Sports, 49 in Performing Arts

Average of 2,000 Reports per Day on Ticket Scalping: A 17-Fold Increase

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on October 7 that it has requested an investigation for the first time after the enforcement of the revised Performing Arts Act and the National Sports Promotion Act in August, targeting 170 suspects identified for transactions involving ticket scalping such as sales above face value and bulk sales.

The Ministry explained that, according to an analysis of ticket scalping reports in the performing arts and professional sports sectors by the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, the total number of tickets these 170 individuals attempted to sell amounts to 11,032, with an expected sale value of 1,028,749,000 won.

By sector, there were 121 individuals involved in professional sports and 49 in performing arts. For professional sports, the number of tickets was 10,660 with a total value of 929,253,000 won, while for performing arts, it was 372 tickets with a value of 99,496,000 won.

Choi Huieong, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

About 68% of the individuals subject to investigation—115 people—were reported based on sales posts uploaded to TicketBay. There were instances where a single person attempted to sell over 1,000 tickets through multiple posts, and cases where the total attempted sale amount exceeded 100 million won.

The current investigation request also includes four individuals involved in so-called "variant sales" that emerged after the revised law took effect. These cases disguised ticket scalping by charging additional amounts under the pretense of service fees or labor charges or by bundling goods with tickets. The Ministry explained that, based on legal consultation, it decided to include these cases in the investigation, as the judgment should be based on the "substance" of the transaction rather than its nominal form.

With the enforcement of the revised Performing Arts Act and National Sports Promotion Act on August 28, any fraudulent purchase or sale of tickets for performances or sporting events has been prohibited, regardless of whether macro programs are used. Penalties for fraudulent sales may be imposed up to 50 times the sale amount.

A whistleblower reward system is also in operation. For reports of fraudulent purchases, a reward of up to 50 million won may be given, and for reports of fraudulent sales, up to 50% of the penalty imposed may be awarded as a reward. The reporting agencies, namely the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, may require those involved in ticket sales to restrict the exposure of scalping-related posts and to submit relevant data.

After the enforcement of the law, reports of ticket scalping have surged. From August 28 to October 1, a total of approximately 68,000 reports were received. This is about 2,000 per day—roughly 17 times more than the previous year. Excluding duplicates and invalid submissions, the reporting agencies took measures in cooperation with platforms to prevent exposure for 30,000 cases out of approximately 45,000 valid reports.

In preparation for the upcoming post-season in professional baseball, the Ministry, together with the police, will conduct on-site crackdowns at all fall baseball games and operate promotional booths at major stadiums. In addition, the Ministry plans to promote the eradication of ticket scalping and encourage public reporting through stadium and theater screens as well as social media channels.

Suspected cases of ticket scalping can be reported through the Integrated Reporting Website for Performing Arts and Sports Ticket Scalping. The Ministry also plans to strengthen the workforce of the reporting agencies to cope with the increased volume of reports.

Minister Choi Hwi-young emphasized, "Ticket scalping is an obvious criminal act that deprives creators and athletes of their rightful interests and disturbs the market order," and added, "Because this is a livelihood-related crime that people can directly experience in their daily lives, active response from all stakeholders is necessary." Choi also expressed gratitude to the public for their proactive reporting and to the platforms for their cooperation, saying, "Thanks to your efforts, we were able to gather major suspicious cases and refer them for investigation. We are also grateful to the police for their dedication to eradicating ticket scalping, and the Ministry and reporting agencies will continue to actively cooperate."

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