Famed celebrities, including boy band g.o.d and singer Sung Si-kyung, have been grappling with the problem ticket scalpers for some time. The need for urgent action is being raised to deal with ticket scalping, in order to curb profiteering, thwart fraud and prevent further damage to the entertainment industry and fans.
g.o.d, a renowned K-pop boy group during the early 2000s, is set to hold a free concert on Sept. 9, at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon. Seats for the event were completely booked less than three minutes after reservations opened at 2 p.m., Aug. 9. However, despite the concert being a free event, a flood of scalpers appeared on trading sites, offering to sell reserved seats at exorbitant prices, reaching as high as 300,000 won.
Singer Sung Si-kyung also voiced concerns over ticket scalping ahead of his joint concert in September. Reservations for the “2023 Sung Si-kyung with Friends [Now, today]” concert opened at 8 p.m. on July 26th and quickly sold out. On the same day, the singer took to Instagram expressing gratitude for the support, while also cautioning people against falling victim to scalpers.
“Thank you for your support, but I think there already are a lot of scalpers out there,” he said. He added, “I strongly urge against purchasing or selling inflated tickets … Watch out for my manager while doing that. There will be consequences.”
There has been a surge in illegal online ticket transactions in Korea in recent years.
According an audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, whose findings were reported to Yoo Jung-ju, a lawmaker with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 3,594 reported cases of ticket scalping were detected as of September 2022. This up 10 times compared to 2020.
Ticket scalping is a major problem in the entertainment industry, because it severely impacts the amount of money artists make. Also, people seeking access to content are unfairly driven to pay exaggerated costs.
BLACKPINK performs during their “BORN PINK” encore concert at the Stade De France, Saint-Denis, France, July 18. / Courtesy of YG EntertainmentIn response to the escalating numbers of ticket scalping incidents, the government has mandated the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency to jointly establish an online reporting center. In June, the ministry and the agency also embarked on a special campaign to eradicate scalping.
Despite these efforts, the surge in ticket scalping remains unchecked. This is partly attributed to the lenient penalties given to people committing these offenses. A recent court ruling on June 23, sentenced a ticket fraudster to a mere one and a half years in prison. The perpetrator forged ticket reservation details and seat assignments for concerts of artists such as IU and Park Hyo-shin, and vanished after accepting payments from multiple individuals.
On the other hand, Taiwan has taken decisive measures in line with ticket scalping transactions that recently took place. At a “BORN PINK” concert held by K-pop megastar BLACKPINK in Taiwan in March, touted ticket prices soared to a whopping 400,000 Taiwanese dollars ($13,000). In the wake of this case, the Legislative Yuan passed a bill that would impose up to 50 times the fixed price if a person is caught selling illegal tickets.
In addition, Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture announced its plans to implement a real-name ticket purchasing system, alongside the establishment of an official platform for authorized ticket resale. The Ministry also intends to incentivize the reporting of scalping activities by offering rewards of up to 100,000 Taiwanese dollars, within 20 percent of the imposed fine.
Rep. Yoo agreed that heightened punishment is one way to eradicate ticket scalping. “I believe it’s crucial to instill a sense of self-awareness within every ticket buyer. It’s important to spread the word that if someone gets caught ticket scalping, there will be significant consequences to face. Creating this awareness can go a long way in deterring such practices and promoting a fairer ticketing ecosystem.” She said.
“Ticket scalping can really lead to a feeling of inequality. When tickets are resold at inflated prices, it often means that some people may miss out on the chance to enjoy events that were meant to be accessible to all. That’s why I strongly believe that we need to take a comprehensive approach to tackle scalping. Both the scalpers and the people buying from them should be held responsible for any legal and criminal consequences that arise,” She added.
