20s Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling Tens of Millions Won in BTS Ticket Sales 'Fraud'

/Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] A man in his 20s working as an emergency medical technician was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison in the first trial for defrauding tens of millions of won by posting ads selling tickets to a famous celebrity concert.

The Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 8 (Judge Choi Yeonmi) announced on the 3rd that Kim (25), who was prosecuted on charges of fraud, was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison.

The court explained, "Kim repeatedly committed crimes against an unspecified number of victims, which reflects the bad nature of the crime," adding, "The number of offenses and the scale of the damage amount are not insignificant, and the victims have not been compensated."

However, the court stated the sentencing reasons, saying, "The defendant confessed to the crime and showed remorse, and has no prior record of punishment above a fine, which are favorable circumstances," and "The sentence was determined considering the defendant’s age, character, environment, criminal record, and circumstances after the crime."

Between September and December of last year, Kim posted ads on internet sites claiming to sell BTS concert tickets without the intention or ability to sell them, defrauding a total of 6,835,000 won over about 30 occasions.

He also posted ads to sell tickets for a year-end music festival concert hosted by a broadcasting station and concerts by singers Kim Jin-ho and Crush, receiving 2,962,000 won over 17 transactions.

It was also confirmed that between April and October of the same year, Kim posted ads selling wallets and famous brand clothes, defrauding 1,520,000 won.

Between May and July, it was revealed that Kim borrowed 28,870,000 won from victim A over 113 transactions, claiming, "I have an urgent matter and will repay the money the next day," but did not return the money.

The total amount Kim defrauded from victims between April and December of last year reached 40,437,000 won, which was mainly used to repay debts or for living expenses.

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