The Ultimate Baseball? The Ultimate Scalping! ... Kim Seong-geun vs Lee Seung-yeop Showdown with Skyrocketing Scalper Prices

Sold out within minutes of ticket sales start... Suspected scalpers sweeping up tickets
Tickets worth 10,000 KRW listed for 1,500,000 KRW on secondhand trading sites
Lack of effectiveness in online scalping crackdowns... 5 out of 7 anti-scalping bills pending in the National Assembly

JTBC 'The Strongest Baseball' Preview. Photo by JTBC

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] The ticket scalpers are thrilled about the game on the 20th at 1 PM at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, where Lee Seung-yeop, returning as the manager of the Doosan Bears, faces off against Kim Sung-geun, who is making his debut as a manager on JTBC’s variety show "Choe-gang Baseball." Scalpers are sweeping up tickets, forcing fans to pay a premium to watch the game reluctantly. Although the ticket price for this event is only 10,000 KRW, tickets are currently being offered for over 100,000 KRW on the resale market. Since there are no proper penalties for online scalping, concerns are rising that scalpers are becoming even more rampant.

Among professional baseball fans, the recent hot topic is undoubtedly the showdown between the two managers. Nicknamed the "God of Baseball," veteran manager Kim Sung-geun has led seven professional teams, including OB (now Doosan), Taepyungyang, Samsung, Ssangbangwool, LG, SK, and Hanwha. Kim is especially famous for leading the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) to their first championship in 2007 and winning the Korean Series again in 2008 and 2010. His managerial skills were also recognized in Japanese professional baseball, where he served as a coach for the Chiba Lotte Marines and as a managerial advisor for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Manager Lee Seung-yeop is literally one of the iconic figures symbolizing Korean baseball. He debuted professionally in 1995 with the Samsung Lions and recorded a career batting average of .302 with 467 home runs and 1,498 RBIs over 1,096 games. During his active years, he won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and home run king titles five times each and received the Golden Glove award ten times, earning him the title of a national hitter. Additionally, he played in Japanese professional baseball from 2004 to 2011, hitting 159 home runs and winning the Japan Series twice. His number 36 jersey with Samsung remains the third retired number in the club’s history. Alongside the managers’ duel, former Lotte player Lee Dae-ho, known as the "Korea’s No. 4 hitter," has joined "Choe-gang Baseball," drawing significant attention.

As the big match was set, fans expressed their excitement on online communities with comments like "It has to be watched live," "The first and last showdown between Kim Sung-geun and Lee Seung-yeop," and "It’s going to be a game that’s unbelievable even when seen with the eyes." Tickets sold out early due to high demand, but some fans lamented that scalpers prevented them from obtaining tickets.

On the 15th, searching for "Choe-gang Baseball" and "Doosan Bears" on the secondhand trading online cafe "Junggonara" revealed numerous scalping posts. One member even listed a 10,000 KRW ticket for 1,500,000 KRW. While this might be an attempt to attract attention from those needing tickets, fans expressed disbelief at the blatant scalping. One netizen posted in the cafe, urging others not to buy tickets sold by scalpers, gaining support from fellow fans.

Scalpers even offering macro programs for sale

Currently, tickets for the game sold on secondhand trading cafes and sites are priced between 80,000 and 100,000 KRW. Considering the original price is 10,000 KRW, they are being sold at up to ten times the face value. Scalpers typically use macro functions to book tickets. A macro allows users to quickly complete the ticket purchasing steps with a single preset key input or mouse click. Using this method, scalpers secure large quantities of good seats and resell them at higher prices on secondhand trading sites for profit.

Some scalpers have even started selling macro programs. One netizen advertised on secondhand trading sites, saying, "Selling ticketing programs and methods to enter the booking page immediately without waiting in line," claiming "Over 90% success rate in ticketing, immediately moving to the seat selection page."

Given this situation, the Korea Professional Sports Association is receiving reports of suspected scalping or bulk purchases using macros on various sites and social networking services (SNS) to eradicate online scalping in professional sports.

The secondhand trading platform "Junggonara" also announced it will conduct a "Junggonara Ticket Trading Special Monitoring" until the end of the year to prevent overheating in the ticket resale market for sports events and various year-end concerts. During this monitoring period, professional scalper sellers will be analyzed, and if problematic transactions are found, trading by those sellers will be restricted.

Offline scalping is a minor offense... Online scalping lacks penalty provisions

The problem lies in the penalty severity. Offline scalping can be punished under the Minor Offenses Act, but there are no penalty provisions for online scalping. The police only prosecute ticket booking and resale using macro programs as obstruction of business. Even offline scalping, punishable by a fine of up to 200,000 KRW under the Minor Offenses Act, is criticized for its ineffectiveness. During the 21st National Assembly, seven bills aimed at preventing scalping, including amendments to the Performance Act, were proposed, but five remain pending. The passed amendment to the Performance Act only added provisions regarding the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s efforts to prevent scalping.

The industry has pledged to strengthen monitoring to curb scalping. Hong Jun, CEO of Junggonara, said, "We decided to monitor and restrict excessive scalper transactions within the platform to enable reasonable trading for users," adding, "Junggonara will continue to invest more and introduce reasonable policies to create a safer trading environment."

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