Anti-Scalping Law Takes Effect, But Loopholes Spark Outrage

[Anchor]

An anti-scalping law went into effect last month to crack down on the practice of reselling tickets at exorbitant prices, sometimes dozens of times their original cost. We took a closer look at what has changed and where the limitations lie.

[Reporter]

First, individuals can now be punished even if they did not use macro programs.

Under the revised law, regardless of whether a macro program was used, two practices are strictly prohibited: "illegal sales," which involve habitually or commercially selling or brokering admission tickets at a premium, and "illegal purchases," which involve bypassing ticketing systems to purchase tickets for the purpose of resale.

Second, penalty bombs of up to 50 times the face value.

In the past, penalties were limited to imprisonment of up to one year or fines of up to 10 million won, leading to criticism that paying the fine was simply the cost of doing profitable business.

Under the revised law, administrative fines of up to 50 times the total sales amount can be levied.

Third, a reward system for reporting violations.

Reporters of illegal purchases can receive up to 50 million won, while reporters of illegal sales can receive up to 50 percent of the administrative fine imposed on the seller.

The government aims to actively crack down on scalpers not only through direct enforcement but also by leveraging reports from fans.

However, fans' anger has only grown stronger.

Controversy 1: Foreigners Residing Overseas Are Exempt from Punishment

Because it is difficult to punish foreign nationals residing abroad under the principle of territoriality, controversy surrounding the boundaries of who can be penalized quickly spread.

In particular, just a day before the anti-scalping law took effect, on August 27, EXO concert tickets sold out in an instant, and scalping posts offering tickets at several times their face value immediately appeared on Chinese social media, inevitably outraging domestic fans.

[Cho Hee-yoon / K-pop Fan: The biggest market for scalping has always been China. There were so many scalping photos and posts.]

[K-pop Fan A: There must definitely be a way to catch them, but since they are not catching them and instead causing even more severe harm, I think a lot of people are dissatisfied.]

Controversy 2: Why Only Concert and Sports Tickets?

Another controversy centers on the scope of the anti-scalping law.

The revised Performance Act and National Sports Promotion Act limit regulatory targets strictly to admission and discount tickets for "performances" and "sporting events." Other types of scalping—such as movie tickets, hotel vouchers, and KTX train tickets—are not subject to reporting or punishment.

Controversy 3: The Definition of Scalping Remains Ambiguous

[Jang Hyo-kang / K-pop Legal Specialist: I can give you a legal answer, but looking at it myself, it is still too vague. Habituality refers to a tendency to repeat a certain action. While such a tendency is difficult to discern, business-like trading activity is considered commercial operation. Therefore, a single transaction could potentially be deemed a commercial operation, or three or four transactions might not be. How are we supposed to handle this? In general cases, guidelines serve as the standard, and those are legal precedents. Ultimately, I think it will take a considerable amount of time to establish that, and in the meantime, violations need to be caught promptly with very heavy penalties.]

The closer we look, the more ambiguous the criteria become for what constitutes scalping, and the reality is that catching and punishing violators one by one is no easy task.

How can this problem be solved?

The measure pointed out first and foremost by fans and experts is robust technological regulation against macro programs.

[K-pop Fan A: I think the biggest problem is that the focus has shifted toward illegal transactions rather than focusing more on macros. If macros continue to bypass the system and people are told not to engage in illegal purchasing either, it essentially tells domestic fans not to bother trying to attend at all, which creates a major issue.]

What methods can eradicate ticket scalping and ensure everyone can purchase tickets fairly?
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.