South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it is stepping up its crackdown on ticket scalping.
The ministry said on the 11th it asked the National Police Agency to investigate four suspected cases involving 105 BTS concert tickets believed to have been sold illegally.
After intensively monitoring major online secondhand marketplaces for BTS concerts in Gwanghwamun and Goyang, the ministry said it found posts offering a total of 1,868 tickets, including duplicates. It said it secured multiple tickets for the same performance and referred 105 tickets for a police probe.
The ministry also warned that buying scalped tickets may make it effectively impossible to attend. For the BTS Gwanghwamun concert, entry uses a QR-code system that does not allow screenshots. Once a code is scanned for first use, it cannot be reissued or scanned again under any circumstances.
It said all attendees will be required to verify their identity with a designated ID at entry and wear a wristband that cannot be reattached if damaged. Wristbands will be checked for re-entry after movement such as restroom visits, and organizers may conduct random identity checks inside the venue, removing anyone caught attempting a transfer.
The ministry said organizers are also monitoring online posts to detect transactions that violate ticketing policies and are canceling tickets when buyers fail to respond to requests for explanation or cannot substantiate purchases.
Minister Choe Hwi-young said scalping violates organizers’ ticketing policies and warned that strengthened on-site identity checks make transfers “virtually impossible.” He said buyers also face a high risk of fraud, including sellers disappearing, and urged fans to purchase tickets only through official sellers.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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