▲ Ticket scalping (The photo above is not related to the article.)
A large number of scalpers who used macro programs to preemptively purchase massive quantities of concert, sports, and train tickets before reselling them at a markup have been caught by the police.
The National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency announced today (September 20) that it had cracked down on 126 cases and apprehended 157 individuals during a special operation against scalping using macros from March 3 to August 31.
Compared to the previous intensive crackdown conducted from July 15 to December 31 of last year, which resulted in 21 cases and 26 arrests, both the number of cases and individuals apprehended increased about sixfold.
Criminal proceeds totaling 2 billion won were also seized or preserved for confiscation prior to indictment.
By category, concert-related tickets were the most common with 61 cases and 73 people.
Sports events such as baseball accounted for 50 cases and 64 people, train tickets 8 cases and 11 people, and others 7 cases and 9 people.
By age group, people in their 30s were the most numerous at 68 people (43.3%), followed by those in their 20s at 53 people (33.8%), 40s at 31 people (19.7%), and those in their 50s or older at 5 people (3.2%).
People in their 20s and 30s accounted for 77.1% of the total.
The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency arrested a professional scalper who used macro programs to preemptively buy large quantities of concert tickets and resell 2.4 billion won worth over 8 years.
The court issued a pre-indictment attachment order for approximately 1.2 billion won in criminal proceeds.
The Ulsan Provincial Police Agency also arrested a scalper who used the same method to resell 800 million won worth of concert tickets for about 11 months, and preserved approximately 400 million won for confiscation.
During the investigation, the police notified ticketing agencies, railway operators, and credit card companies of the security vulnerabilities in reservation systems and criminal methods identified during the probe, requesting improvements.
As the scope of scalping punishment expanded with the enforcement of the revised Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act on August 28, the police also distributed an investigation manual containing case-handling procedures to front-line units.
The police plan to continue their special crackdown until October 31, focusing intensively on professional scalpers and the creators and sellers of macro programs.
They will also strictly respond to scalping involving train tickets ahead of the Chuseok holiday.
Hong Seok-ki, head of the National Office of Investigation, said, "Bulk reservations and ticket scalping using macros deprive the public of fair purchasing opportunities," adding, "We will thoroughly track criminal proceeds alongside criminal punishment."
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