The Real Reason Jang Beomjun Apologized for Canceling the '50-Person Concert'

Singer Jang Beom-jun planned a concert for his fans after a long time but suddenly canceled it. The reason was ticket scalping. The concert was planned as a small-scale event with about 50 attendees. The problem arose when scalped tickets were sold at prices several times higher than the original ticket price, leading Jang Beom-jun to make the decision to cancel the concert.

On the 1st, Jang Beom-jun announced through his YouTube channel community, "Since we cannot resolve the scalping issue, we have decided to cancel all concert ticket reservations for now," adding, "We will find a fairer and better way and notify you again. We apologize." The concert became a hot topic after Jang Beom-jun announced on the 25th of last month that he would hold a small weekday concert.

Singer Jang Beom-jun planned a concert for his fans after a long time but suddenly canceled it. The reason was ticket scalping. The concert was planned as a small-scale event with about 50 attendees.
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

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At that time, Jang Beom-jun said, "The album has been delayed, so I have been resting for a while. I don’t know when the album will be released. Usually, I start activities with new songs when the album comes out, but since I have an introverted personality, suddenly starting activities after a few years of rest would be difficult, so I thought I might occasionally hold small concerts until the album is released." He later announced that the concert would take place on January 3rd and 4th, with tickets opening two days before the concert on January 1st. Tickets sold out immediately when sales started at 8 p.m. that day. The problem was scalping. Scalped tickets then became rampant.

In the end, the ticket scalping issue was not resolved, and Jang Beom-jun announced the cancellation of the concert. According to reports, the ticket price for Jang Beom-jun's concert was demanded at nearly three times the normal sale price of 55,000 won.
[Photo by Jang Beom-jun YouTube channel]

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Upon hearing the news, Jang Beom-jun said, "This is a small-scale concert. Too many scalped tickets have appeared. If there is no solution, I will cancel all concert tickets, so please do not buy tickets through unofficial channels. I will try to find a way," and added, "I am posting this in case someone buys resold tickets out of urgency." However, since the scalping issue was not resolved, Jang Beom-jun announced the concert cancellation. According to reports, the scalped tickets were being sold at nearly three times the official price of 55,000 won.

In particular, one scalper sold two tickets for Jang Beom-jun’s concert and stated, "I will charge 300,000 won excluding the ticket price." Netizens responded with comments such as, "True fans should not buy scalped tickets," "Isn’t there identity verification at the venue?" and "Legal measures seem necessary."

The scalping problem is not new. At the end of last year, fraud and scalping were rampant in various concerts and performances. Beyond simple reselling, organized activities using macro programs have raised concerns about fraud risks. Some call for strict punishments and countermeasures.

On Christmas, social networking services (SNS) such as X (formerly Twitter) were flooded with posts saying, "I tried to enter the SBS Gayo Daejeon, but the ticket was fake." They said, "I paid 400,000 won to the seller who claimed it was a legitimate ticket, but I was not allowed entry." Since the event only released a limited number of free tickets through prior applications, demand was high, and many victims, including foreign K-POP fans, were reported. The suspect in the 'Gayo Daejeon ticket fraud' was arrested and is under investigation at the Jungbu Police Station in Incheon on the 27th.

The issue of ticket scalping is not new. Even at the end of last year, fraud and scalping were rampant around various concerts and performances. Beyond simple reselling, it is carried out systematically using macro programs, posing risks of fraud. Some quarters have pointed out the need for strict punishment and other measures. [Source=Yonhap News]

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As year-end and New Year performances and concerts pile up, scalping and related fraud continue unabated. On various secondhand trading sites and SNS, posts offering to find canceled tickets for Lim Young-woong’s Daejeon concert with premiums of 70,000 to 100,000 won or offering S-seat tickets originally priced at around 130,000 won for 400,000 won are easily found.

The methods of scalping transactions have also diversified. Besides changing the delivery address of physical tickets or trading on-site, a method called 'Aom' (ID transfer) is commonly used. 'Aom' is used to avoid on-site verification that confirms whether the ticket buyer is the legitimate purchaser. It involves canceling the ticket purchased with the seller’s ID and then the buyer quickly purchasing it again at the moment of cancellation. There are many reports of fraud when cancellations are not processed promptly.

Reports related to scalping have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic as large-scale performances have increased. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, scalping reports for performances were 359 cases in 2020, 785 cases in 2021, and rose sharply to 4,244 cases in 2022. Although reports have increased, proper punishment is difficult, so artists and agencies mainly receive scalping reports or warn of responses if caught.

Currently, scalping and ticket fraud punishments are based on the Minor Offenses Act only for offline cases, with fines up to 200,000 won. It is difficult to impose effective penalties on recent transactions that are organized online and involve dedicated secondhand platforms. Besides the amendment to the Performance Act in March that defined macro purchases as illegal, there are calls for legislation to prevent scalping in various fields such as sports events.

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