Lim Young-woong Tickets Worth Hundreds of Millions Won... "Coin Investment Sentiment Infiltrates the Scalper Market"

Seminar on Measures for Venue Shortage and Scalping Issues
"Administrative Support for Stadiums and Parks Will Be Helpful"

"All the people who used to do selling (reselling) have entered the ticket scalping market. They trade scalped tickets with the same mentality as investing in cryptocurrency." This is what insiders unanimously said regarding the increasing scalping in the popular music industry.

The Korea Popular Music Performance Industry Association (hereinafter referred to as KPMPIA) held a seminar on the 16th at the 2nd Conference Room of the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, under the theme "The Crisis of the Popular Music Performance Industry: Are There No Problems and Solutions?"

Sculpture installed outside singer Lim Young-woong's concert venue
Photo by Yonhap News

Lee Jong-hyun, chairman of KPMPIA, emphasized, "It is a farce that more people jump in when scalping prices are disclosed through the media," adding, "This is not just an economic drain but a huge social issue." He also pointed out the limitations of the revised Performance Act, which will be enforced on March 22. The revised law stipulates that those who use macros?programs that automatically repeat designated commands?to illegally sell tickets can face imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won. However, there are also organized scalpers who hire part-time workers without using macros, and the punishment for such cases remains a gray area."

Chairman Lee stated, "Macro users account for only 10 to 20% of those involved in the scalping market," and argued, "The term 'illegal sale' itself is ambiguous, which is why the scalping problem continues to occur."

Attorney Baek Se-hee from DKEL Partners Law Office also pointed out, "The revised Performance Act includes the use of macros, habituality, and commerciality as grounds for punishment," adding, "Parts that do not fall under these criteria remain a gray area with no punishment." She further noted, "The maximum fine is 10 million won, but if a 20,000 won ticket is sold at a sixfold premium, selling just 10 tickets amounts to 10 million won, so it is difficult to expect sellers to stop due to fear of punishment," and added, "There are no provisions for confiscation or seizure."

They also mentioned the shortage of performance venues in Seoul. Currently, except for Gocheok Dome (25,000 seats) and Seoul Sangam World Cup Stadium, there are no large-scale performance halls in Seoul. Even Gocheok Dome is only available outside the baseball season. The World Cup Stadium also faces difficulties in renting out for events other than football matches to protect the grass.

Kim Eun-sung, CEO of BPC Tangent, appealed, "At the KSPO Dome, which has about 10,000 seats, performances must be held for 2 to 3 consecutive days to break even," and added, "Sangam World Cup Stadium faces huge noise complaints and rarely grants permission due to grass damage concerns." Choi Yoon-soon, director of Live Nation Korea, emphasized, "Building a new performance venue takes years and costs hundreds of billions of won," and said, "While building quickly is important, administrative support in stadiums or parks would be helpful."

Sangheon, Chairman of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (center), and Kim Yeji, Member of the People Power Party (left), are taking a commemorative photo at the seminar titled "The Crisis of the Popular Music Performance Industry: Are There No Problems and Solutions?" held on the 16th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Eumgonghyeop.

Regarding their opinions, Choi Soo-jin, officer of the Popular Culture Industry Division at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, responded, "After gathering opinions on-site about illegal ticket resale profits, we felt the need for joint action against scalping," and added, "We recognize that the Minor Offenses Act is outdated and that there are various concerns about the revised Performance Act, so we will try to solve the problem legislatively and policy-wise through public discussion."

Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also expressed his intention to improve the situation during a field meeting held ahead of the opening of the 8th Korea Musical Awards the day before, saying, "We will first take available measures against musical scalping and 'milcam' issues and continuously promote public discussion to restore normalcy."

Meanwhile, a man in his 30s who posted over 130 ads claiming to sell concert tickets through direct transaction applications like Danggeun Market and online community Junggonara was sentenced to prison after pocketing hundreds of millions of won. Between May and August 2022, he also posted on Junggonara's bulletin board claiming to sell tickets for Lim Young-woong's concert, luring victims and embezzling 216.04 million won over 80 transactions.

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