Crackdown on 'scalping' intensified for all fall baseball games → "Whistleblower rewards up to 50 million won"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Enforcement measures to eradicate ticket scalping will be strengthened ahead of the upcoming KBO League postseason (PS).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hui-young) announced on the 7th that "in preparation for this professional baseball postseason, we will conduct on-site enforcement at all fall baseball games in cooperation with the police and operate on-site promotional booths at major stadiums." The ministry added, "In addition to this, we plan to promote the eradication of scalping and encourage public reporting through large screens at stadiums and performance venues, social networking services (SNS), and other channels."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism further stated that it has requested an investigation into 170 individuals for whom evidence of ticket scalping transactions, such as sales above face value or bulk selling, was identified through analysis of reporting data on scalping in performances and professional sports by the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. The request was submitted on the 6th.

Of these, 121 are from the professional sports sector and 49 from the performance sector. Among them, 115 (68%) were reported based on posts registered on Ticketbay. The estimated total amount of scalped tickets sold by these 170 individuals is 1.03 billion won (930 million won for professional sports, 100 million won for performances), and the estimated number of tickets sold totals approximately 11,000.

With the implementation of the revised "Act on Promotion of Performances" and "National Sports Promotion Act" on August 28, unauthorized purchase and sale of tickets for performances and sporting events have been prohibited, regardless of whether macro software (a program that automatically and repeatedly inputs designated commands into an information and communications network) was used. Additionally, surcharges for unauthorized sales can be imposed up to 50 times the sales amount, and whistleblower rewards can be paid up to 50 million won for reports of unauthorized purchases and up to 50% of the surcharge for reports of unauthorized sales.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, a total of approximately 68,000 reports were received through the reporting system from the implementation of the law until October 1. This averages about 2,000 reports per day, an increase of roughly 17 times compared to the previous year. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "Out of approximately 45,000 valid reports after excluding duplicates, we took measures in cooperation with platforms and others to prevent the relevant posts from being displayed for 30,000 cases. We also requested an investigation for the first time since the implementation of the revised law, focusing on cases suspected of high-priced or bulk sales."

Choi Hui-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "Ticket scalping is a clear criminal act that deprives creators and athletes of their legitimate rights and disrupts the market. As it is a livelihood crime that citizens can easily feel in their daily lives, active response from all stakeholders is necessary." She added, "Thanks to the active reporting by citizens and cooperation from platforms, we were able to compile major suspected cases and request an investigation. We thank the police for their efforts to eradicate scalpers to date, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the reporting system will actively cooperate as well."

Suspected cases of ticket scalping can be reported online through the "Integrated Reporting Website for Performance and Sports Ticket Scalping," and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to promote measures such as reinforcing personnel at the reporting system in response to the increase in reports.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original