Korail "Most Cafe and Blog Lunar New Year Train Ticket Sales Are Illegal... Beware"

Customers are purchasing train tickets in the Seoul Station waiting room on the 7th, the first day of reservation for Seol Myeong-cheol train tickets. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) urged on the 14th to be cautious to avoid damage caused by the frequently occurring 'illegal ticket transactions' ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

In particular, it emphasized not to purchase tickets sold on internet cafes or blogs, as most of these are illegal ticket brokerage activities.

According to KORAIL, reselling train tickets at prices higher than the normal fare violates Article 10 of the Railroad Business Act and Article 3 of the Minor Offenses Act. Offenders may face fines up to 10 million won, penalties up to 200,000 won, detention, or fines.

Illegal resale tickets can cause losses because additional amounts paid beyond the normal price are not refunded when changing or returning tickets.

Also, illegal tickets sold in improper forms such as ticket capture images or text messages containing only seat numbers may cause additional damages, including paying up to 30 times the surcharge unknowingly.

Typical cases of damage from illegal ticket trading include ▲sending payment first but not receiving the ticket ▲selling the same ticket to multiple people via capture images, resulting in seat duplication ▲being caught for fare evasion due to using tickets in improper forms such as photos or capture images.

KORAIL added that except for the day of Lunar New Year, some seats are still available, so please use tickets purchased legitimately at stations, the website, or the ticket reservation app 'KORAIL Talk'.

Hong Seungpyo, head of KORAIL Customer Marketing Division, said, "We will strive to eradicate illegal ticket transactions to protect legitimate users and ensure that everyone enjoys a pleasant and comfortable holiday."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.