President vows to claw back illegal profits from ticket scalpers
In an X post, Lee Jae Myung cited a news story about a suspect accused of raking in billions of won, saying that such practices will be met with much higher penalties.
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with senior aides at the Blue House on Sept. 11.NEWS1
President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that authorities would pursue ticket scalpers “to the end” and recover profits obtained through illegal ticket resales.
“The revised Public Performance Act, which took effect on Aug. 28, is already proving effective,” President Lee wrote on X, sharing a recent JoongAng Ilbo article about a ticket scalper referred to prosecutors for allegedly reselling tickets at nearly 30 times their face value, including one for a BTS concert.
Revisions to the Public Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act that were passed in February and went into effect on Aug. 28 impose a blanket ban on the illegal purchase and resale of tickets. Violators can face administrative fines of up to 50 times the amount earned through illegal ticket sales.
“A ticket scalper was caught after making billions of won by reselling tickets for idol concerts, concerts by foreign artists in Korea and sporting events at prices as high as 30 times their face value,” Lee said. “We will make it clear that anyone who makes illicit profits from ticket scalping will inevitably pay a much greater price.”
Lee also praised the police officers who handled the investigation.
The article Lee cited reported on Wednesday that police had caught a ticket scalper who made billions of won through illegal ticket resales.
A sign warning against reselling tickets stands near Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul ahead of a BTS performance on March 19.NEWS1
The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said Wednesday that it had arrested a man and referred him to prosecutors.
The man is accused of buying a ticket for BTS’s 2019 concert at Jamsil Sports Complex in southern Seoul for 110,000 won ($80) and reselling it for 3 million won. He is also accused of buying a ticket for Seventeen’s fan meet-and-greet last year for 110,000 won and reselling it for 1.8 million won.
The man used macros and accounts belonging to family members and relatives to buy tickets, according to the police. He generated about 2.4 billion won in total resale revenue. Investigators found that he also used proceeds from the scheme to purchase an apartment and two commercial properties in Gyeonggi.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
