160,000 Won Lim Young Woong Ticket Sold for 5,500,000 Won... "Are Scalpers Not Being Caught or Can't They Be Caught?"

Resale Ticket Reports for Popular Music Concerts Increase 11-Fold in 2 Years
"Korea Creative Content Agency Report Center Takes No Action"

"Im Young-woong concert ticket scalping prices start at double the face value and can go up to 30 times more for expensive seats, with some tickets selling for over 5 million won each."

The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) has been criticized for not properly operating the ticket scalping reporting center for the popular music concert sector. Although reports of ticket scalping in the popular music concert field have increased more than 11 times over the past two years, there has been no case where any action was taken.

Singer Lim Young-woong. [Photo by Mulgogi Music]

According to data submitted by Ryu Ho-jeong, a Justice Party member of the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, ticket scalping reports for popular music concerts rose from 359 cases in 2020 to 4,224 cases in 2022. As of the end of September this year, the number of reports was 1,745. In particular, the number of reports in 2022 increased 11.7 times compared to 2020.

At the National Assembly audit held that day, Representative Ryu pointed out, "Reports received by the ticket scalping reporting center for popular culture performances are increasing day by day, but due to a lack of relevant laws, no proper action has been taken so far."

She added, "In 2019, KOCCA only accepted reports without taking any action, citing a lack of relevant laws, whereas the Korea Professional Sports Association has been systematically operating a ticket scalping reporting center for the professional sports sector and achieving results." It was revealed that KOCCA has only one staff member in charge of ticket scalping reports.

Representative Ryu suggested, "KOCCA should consider outsourcing the operation of the reporting center and sharing the ticket scalping database with ticket reservation companies and others."

Current Status of Scalping for Singer Lim Young-woong's Concert Tickets.
[Photo by Ryu Hojung]

In response, Cho Hyun-rae, head of KOCCA, said, "With the revision of the Performance Act this year, a law has been established that allows administrative or event-related actions against ticket scalping starting from March next year." He added, "The government’s budget plan includes funds for legal consultation, so we will be able to actively promote this from next year."

He further stated, "We will benchmark the sports industry and try to come up with measures that can be implemented even before the law is revised."

Meanwhile, floor seats for Im Young-woong’s concert scheduled for the 4th of next month at the KSPO Dome (formerly Gymnastics Stadium) in Seoul were being illegally traded online for 5.5 million won. The official price of this ticket is 165,000 won, meaning it was resold at 33 times the face value.

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