'Will scalping finally disappear?' 50 million won reward for reporting - penalty up to 50 times sales amount imposed; government amendment takes effect

*This content was translated by AI.

This time, will scalping truly disappear?

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young) announced that amendments to the 'Enforcement Decree of the Performing Arts Act' and the 'Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act', which stipulate obligations for ticket sellers and online marketplace operators to prevent scalping, criteria for imposing penalties, and procedures for paying rewards for reporting, passed the 36th State Council meeting on the 18th and will take effect from the 28th.

The 'Performing Arts Act' and 'National Sports Promotion Act', revised in February last year, established a strong foundation to prevent scalping transactions by: ▶prohibiting all fraudulent purchases and sales regardless of whether macro (a program that automatically repeats commands specified on an information and communications network) is used; ▶mandating business operators to take measures to prevent fraudulent activities; ▶designating and supporting reporting institutions; ▶paying rewards for reports; ▶imposing penalties up to 50 times the sales amount; and ▶confiscating or recovering illegal profits.

Most importantly, criteria for imposing penalties have been established to strengthen the effectiveness of sanctions against scalping. In line with the revised law allowing penalties of up to 50 times the sales amount to be imposed on fraudulent sellers, new standards were introduced to impose differentiated penalties ranging from two times to a maximum of 50 times the sales amount, depending on the quantity and value of tickets purchased or sold fraudulently.

In addition, the amendment to the Enforcement Decree has specified the criteria for rewards paid to those who report fraudulent purchases or sales to reporting institutions or law enforcement authorities. It stipulates that rewards may be paid up to 50 million won in cases of reported fraudulent purchases, and up to 50% of the penalty imposed on the violator in cases of reported fraudulent sales. With the full implementation of the penalty and reward systems, it is expected that prevention and detection of scalping transactions will gain further momentum.

Choi Hwi-young, Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, chaired a joint inspection meeting with relevant institutions on the 28th, the day the law took effect, to ensure the successful establishment of the revised laws and their effectiveness on the ground. At this meeting, 19 relevant institutions, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Fair Trade Commission, the National Police Agency, major ticket booking platforms, second-hand trading platforms, related associations, and reporting institutions, shared plans to prevent scalping transactions in preparation for the implementation of the revised laws and reviewed their cooperation framework.

Choi Hwi-yeong (Minister) stated, "With the completion of the amendment to the Enforcement Decree, we are fully prepared to resolve the scalping problem that hinders the sustainable growth of 'K-Culture.' The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will cooperate closely with relevant institutions such as the National Police Agency to launch a full-scale response to eradicate scalping transactions, thereby guaranteeing the legitimate viewing opportunities for performance audiences and sports fans and establishing a fair booking order."

▶ (Government) Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Fair Trade Commission, National Police Agency

▶ (Booking platforms) NOL Ticket, Melon Ticket, Yes24, Coupang Play, Ticket Link

▶ (Second-hand trading platforms) Naver, Ddang Market, Bunghae Mart, Junggo-nara, Ticket Bay

▶ (Reporting institutions) Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, Korea Creative Content Agency

▶ (Related associations) Korean Popular Music Performance Industry Association, Korean Popular Music Industry Association, Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Professional Sports Association

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*This content was translated by AI.