The ministry said its reporting and monitoring found about 16,000 posts related to scalping in recent weeks. Around the March 28-29 opening games, it detected transactions priced as high as 13 times face value. It also said it found multiple signs of organized activity, including accounts securing large blocks of seats for resale. Based on indicators such as bulk or adjacent-seat sales, excessive markups and repeated transactions by the same account, the ministry analyzed cases and referred them to the National Police Agency for investigation.
The ministry said it considers scalping a serious illegal act that undermines fair access for fans. It said it is continuously monitoring online sales centered on the Korea Professional Sports Association’s “Online Ticket Scalping Report Center,” analyzing seat details, terms of sale, repeat-account activity, markup levels and duplicate postings across platforms to identify suspicious cases.
To address the problem more broadly, the ministry said it is combining legal changes with on-the-ground measures. Under revisions to the National Sports Promotion Act — promulgated Feb. 27, 2026, and set to take effect Aug. 28 — all unfair ticket transactions are banned regardless of whether macros are used. The changes also allow penalties of up to 50 times the sales amount and introduce a reward system for reports, sharply increasing punishment levels.
The ministry said a public-private consultative body on preventing ticket scalping for performances and sports was launched March 5 with the National Police Agency, the Fair Trade Commission, the pro sports association, the Korea Baseball Organization, ticketing services and secondhand trading platforms. It said the group is building cooperation on monitoring, information sharing and public outreach, while encouraging voluntary steps such as removing posts, restricting transactions and strengthening abnormal-transaction detection systems, alongside anti-scalping campaigns online and at stadiums.
The KBO and clubs are also working with police to step up on-site crackdowns and are running ongoing messages through websites, stadium video boards and banners, the ministry said. Clubs are tightening controls by sanctioning improper use of season tickets and memberships and canceling tickets or restricting use when booking policies are violated.
Culture Minister Choe Hwi-young said, “Scalping is not a simple transaction between individuals, but a clear illegal act that undermines fairness in the sports industry and infringes on the public’s right to attend.” He added, “With this revision to the National Sports Promotion Act, scalping is no longer something that is tolerated, but a serious violation subject to heavy penalties. Even before the law takes effect, we will respond proactively by mobilizing all available administrative and investigative tools.”
Choe also said, “There are limits to what government enforcement alone can do, and a change in public awareness is essential,” urging the public to take part in efforts to eradicate scalping.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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