The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, along with the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, announced on October 7 that they have referred 170 individuals suspected of ticket scalping for investigation as of October 6.
Since the revised Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act took effect on August 28, over 68,000 reports have been filed by October 1. Of these, approximately 45,000 were valid reports after excluding duplicates, and actions were taken to prevent the exposure of about 30,000 posts in collaboration with various platforms.
The 170 individuals under investigation include 121 from the professional sports sector and 49 from the performance sector. About 68% of these cases, or 115 individuals, were reported based on posts registered on Ticketbay.
The estimated total value of the ticket scalping activities involving these 170 individuals is approximately 1.03 billion won, with around 930 million won from professional sports and about 100 million won from performances. The total number of tickets involved is estimated at 11,000. In some cases, individuals attempted to sell over 1,000 tickets through multiple posts, and there were instances where the total price of tickets offered for resale exceeded 100 million won. Four individuals who engaged in 'variant sales'—a method to evade legal scrutiny by adding fees or bundling products—are also included in the investigation.
In preparation for the upcoming professional baseball postseason, the Ministry of Culture plans to conduct on-site inspections at all fall baseball games in collaboration with the police and to operate promotional booths at major stadiums.
Minister Choi Hwi-young stated, “Thanks to the active reporting from the public and cooperation from the platforms, we were able to compile major suspicious cases for investigation.” He added, “I appreciate the efforts of the police in combating ticket scalping, and the Ministry will also actively cooperate with reporting agencies.”
Meanwhile, with the implementation of the revised Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act on August 28, the illegal purchase and sale of tickets for performances and sporting events have been prohibited, regardless of the use of macros. Additionally, fines for illegal sales can be imposed up to 50 times the sale amount, and rewards for reporting illegal purchases can reach up to 50 million won, while rewards for reporting illegal sales can be up to 50% of the imposed fines.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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