Ministry Requests Investigation into 186 Suspected Professional Baseball Ticket Scalping Cases

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on April 1 that it has requested a police investigation into 186 online posts suspected of being related to high-priced and large-volume transactions of professional baseball tickets, which are believed to be scalping activities.

The ministry stated that, anticipating an increase in ticket scalping with the opening of the 2026 professional baseball season, it had been accepting reports and monitoring for scalping activities since February, resulting in the identification of approximately 16,000 suspected cases. In particular, around the opening games on March 28 and 29, there were multiple indications of organized transactions, including sales at up to about 13 times the original price, large quantities of seats secured and resold by the same account, and bulk or consecutive seat resales. Among these, the ministry analyzed and identified cases that raised suspicions of illegal transactions—such as bulk and consecutive seat sales, excessive markups, and repeated transactions by the same account—and referred them to the National Police Agency for investigation.

Choi Huilyoung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (second from left), is speaking at the 'Joint Public-Private Task Force Launch Ceremony for Preventing Resale of Performance and Sports Tickets' held on the 5th of last month at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul Branch in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The ministry regards ticket scalping as a serious illegal act that undermines fair viewing order, and is continuously monitoring online transactions through the “Professional Sports Online Scalping Report Center” operated by the Professional Sports Association. For the collected posts, it comprehensively analyzes factors such as seat information, transaction conditions, repeated use of the same account, markup levels, and whether the same post is listed on multiple platforms, selecting suspicious cases based on transaction methods.

In addition, to fundamentally resolve the scalping issue, the ministry is pursuing comprehensive measures combining legislative revisions and on-site responses. In particular, the “National Sports Promotion Act” has been amended to prohibit all illegal transactions regardless of macro program usage, significantly strengthening penalties by introducing fines of up to 50 times the sale amount and a reward system for reports. The amended law was promulgated on February 27, 2026, and is scheduled to take effect on August 28, 2026.

Furthermore, on March 5, the “Public-Private Council for Preventing Resale of Performance and Sports Tickets” was launched with participation from the National Police Agency, the Fair Trade Commission, the Professional Sports Association, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), ticketing agencies, and secondhand trading platforms. This body has established a cooperative system for monitoring, information sharing, and nationwide public awareness campaigns. The ministry encourages voluntary regulation by ticketing agencies and platforms, such as deleting posts, restricting transactions, and enhancing abnormal transaction detection systems, and is carrying out promotional activities both online and at stadiums to eradicate scalping.

The KBO and each baseball club are strengthening on-site crackdowns in collaboration with the police and are continuously promoting anti-scalping messages through their websites, stadium electronic boards, and banners. At the club level, management systems are also being strengthened by imposing sanctions on the improper use of season tickets and memberships, as well as canceling tickets and restricting access for violations of ticketing policies.

Minister Choi Huilyoung stated, “Scalping is not merely a transaction between individuals—it is a clear illegal act that undermines the fairness of the sports industry and infringes on the public’s right to enjoy games. With this revision of the National Sports Promotion Act, scalping is no longer a tolerated activity but a serious illegal act subject to heavy fines.” He continued, “Even before the law comes into effect, we will mobilize all available administrative and investigative measures to respond proactively. The eradication of scalping cannot be achieved by government enforcement alone; a change in public perception is essential. We ask everyone to actively participate in stamping out scalping.”

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