SEOUL, March 11 (AJP) - Korea’s culture ministry said Wednesday it had referred four suspected ticket-scalping cases involving 105 BTS concert tickets to police after identifying more than 1,800 resale listings online.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it found 1,868 online posts offering BTS concert tickets for resale, including duplicate listings, while monitoring major Korean secondhand trading platforms such as Joonggonara, Ticketbay, Karrot Market and Bunjang.
Authorities said the suspected scalping cases involved sellers who allegedly secured multiple tickets for the same show and attempted to resell them at steep premiums.
The listings were linked to BTS’s comeback performance scheduled for March 21 at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul and BTS' world tour set to take place in Goyang from April 9 to 12.
Officials said resold tickets are unlikely to grant entry because strict identity verification procedures will be enforced at the events.
According to organizers, the Gwanghwamun concert will use a mobile QR code system that blocks screenshots and prevents codes from being reused once scanned. Attendees will also undergo identity verification with designated identification and receive non-transferable wristbands upon entry.
Random identity checks will continue inside the venue, and anyone found using a transferred ticket will be removed immediately, authorities said.
Korea has recently tightened regulations to combat ticket scalping. Amendments for the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act, promulgated on Feb. 27 and set to take effect Aug. 28, will prohibit illegal ticket resale regardless of whether automated purchasing programs, or macros, were used.
The revised laws will also allow authorities to impose surcharges of up to 50 times the resale amount and introduce reporting reward systems for illegal ticket sales.
The ministry launched a public-private task force on March 5 to strengthen cooperation with ticket vendors and online trading platforms in tackling ticket scalping.
Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said scalping disrupts the fair distribution of tickets and exploits fans’ enthusiasm for popular culture.
“Starting with this investigation request, we will continue firm and consistent measures until ticket scalping is eradicated and a fair ticketing culture is established,” Choi said.
He also warned fans against purchasing resale tickets, noting that strict identity checks make ticket transfers virtually impossible and could expose buyers to fraud if sellers disappear after the transaction.
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