South Korea Refers 170 Suspected Ticket Scalpers to Police Under Tougher Resale Rules

South Korea is moving from tougher anti-scalping rules into active enforcement, with the government referring 170 suspected habitual ticket resellers to police for investigation.

Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young reported the results during an October 6 Cabinet meeting, saying authorities had received 68,158 public reports in the roughly month-long period following the August 28 implementation of revised ticket-resale laws. Officials analyzed reported listings and identified 170 people suspected of repeated illegal resale activity.

The revised Public Performance Act and National Sports Promotion Act prohibit commercial or habitual resale above face value regardless of whether automated purchasing tools were used. The changes also allow financial penalties of up to 50 times the resale amount, closing a major gap in the previous framework that centered heavily on macro-assisted purchases.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the referral is the first made under the revised laws.

The government is also targeting attempts to disguise resale transactions. Choi said legal review determined that schemes in which another product — such as a player photograph or coupon — is sold at an inflated price with a ticket included as a supposed “free gift” can still qualify as illegal ticket scalping.

Authorities are separately examining ways to address resale conducted through overseas platforms, including international cooperation and requirements for foreign platforms to designate domestic representatives.

Choi also cited 157 scalpers apprehended during a broader police crackdown involving concert, sports and transportation tickets. That figure should not be read as 157 arrests generated solely by the new law: the National Police Agency’s underlying crackdown ran from March 3 through August 31, beginning months before the revised laws took effect.

The latest figures nevertheless mark a concrete enforcement stage for rules BiasList previously covered when they took effect in August. Rather than focusing only on automated purchasing, South Korea’s current approach now targets the resale itself, public reporting, repeat sellers and attempts to route transactions around the law.