Korea targets 170 ticket scalpers in 1st mass police referral

Korean authorities referred 170 high-volume ticket resellers to police on Wednesday under tightened anti-scalping laws. The suspects allegedly offered 11,032 sports and entertainment tickets in an illegal trade estimated at more than 1 billion won. Authorities received over 68,000 complaints after the law took effect and plan joint digital and on-site crackdowns during the KBO postseason.

The suspects included 121 sellers of sports tickets and 49 sellers of entertainment tickets.

Authorities blocked around 30,000 suspicious posts and obtained transaction data from online secondary ticket platforms.

About 68 percent of the suspects posted listings on Ticketbay.

Four people allegedly concealed markups through overpriced merchandise requirements or service fees.

Violators face administrative fines of up to 50 times a ticket’s face value, while tipsters can receive rewards of up to 50 million won.

Published Oct 7, 2026 11:45 am KST

Baseball fans line up to purchase tickets outside the main box office at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Aug. 27. Yonhap

Under newly tightened anti-scalping laws, Korean authorities referred 170 high-volume ticket resellers to police on Wednesday, targeting an illegal trade estimated at more than 1 billion won ($770,000).

The sweep marks the first major enforcement action under amended legislation that bans reselling tickets above face value, regardless of whether automated buying software was used. The move follows an unprecedented wave of public tips: Between Aug. 28, when the law took effect, and Oct. 1, authorities received over 68,000 complaints — averaging roughly 2,000 a day, a seventeenfold surge compared to last year.

Cooperating with online secondary ticket platforms, regulators blocked around 30,000 suspicious posts and obtained transaction data to identify the most severe offenders. The suspects, comprising 121 sellers in sports and 49 in entertainment, allegedly offered 11,032 tickets. In one extreme instance, a single individual offered more than 1,000 tickets with a combined listing price exceeding 100 million won.

“Ticket scalping is a clear criminal act that deprives creators and athletes of their legitimate rights while disrupting the market,” said Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young. Calling scalping a crime that directly undermines everyday public life, Chae urged continued cooperation between online platforms and law enforcement.

The crackdown comes as Korea enters its highly anticipated baseball postseason. Professional sports matches have become hotbeds for reselling, with high-profile playoff games routinely selling out in seconds. About 68 percent of the suspects flagged in this first sweep posted their listings on Ticketbay, a popular local secondary ticket marketplace.

Regulators are also going after scalpers using sneaky tricks to dodge the law.

Four people were flagged for hiding high ticket prices behind extra charges — like forcing buyers to purchase overpriced merchandise or claiming the markup is just a "service fee." Authorities made it clear that no matter what scalpers call these extra fees, the law looks at the real price being charged.

Under the amended legislation, violators face administrative fines up to 50 times the ticket’s face value. To sustain the momentum, citizens who report illegal ticket hoarding can receive monetary rewards of up to 50 million won.

With the KBO postseason kicking off, authorities plan joint on-site crackdowns with police at every playoff venue, pairing stadium patrols with digital monitoring to safeguard fans heading to the gates.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

韩国当局周三根据新加强的反黄牛法，将170名大量倒卖球票的嫌疑人移交警方。据称，这些嫌疑人非法出售了11032张体育和娱乐门票，涉案金额估计超过10亿韩元。该法律生效后，当局已收到超过6.8万起投诉，并计划在韩国职业棒球联赛（KBO）季后赛期间开展线上线下联合打击行动。

嫌疑人包括 121 名体育赛事门票销售商和 49 名娱乐活动门票销售商。

当局屏蔽了约 3 万条可疑帖子，并从在线二手票务平台获取了交易数据。

约 68% 的嫌疑人在 Ticketbay 上发布了广告信息。

据称有四人通过虚高的商品价格或服务费来掩盖加价行为。

违规者将面临最高可达罚单面值 50 倍的行政罚款，而举报者可获得最高 5000 万韩元的奖励。

发布于2026年10月7日上午11:45（韩国标准时间）

8月27日，棒球迷们在首尔南部蚕室棒球场主售票处外排队购票。（韩联社）

根据新出台的反黄牛法，韩国当局周三将 170 名大宗门票倒卖者移交给警方，打击的非法交易金额估计超过 10 亿韩元（77 万美元）。

此次行动是修订后的法律生效以来首次大规模执法行动，该法律禁止以高于票面价格的价格转售门票，无论是否使用自动购票软件。此前，公众举报数量空前高涨：自8月28日法律生效至10月1日，当局共收到超过6.8万起投诉，平均每天约2000起，比去年同期增长了17倍。

监管机构与在线二手票务平台合作，屏蔽了约3万条可疑信息，并获取了交易数据，以识别最严重的违法者。这些嫌疑人包括121名体育赛事卖家和49名娱乐赛事卖家，他们涉嫌出售11032张门票。其中最极端的案例是，一名卖家出售了超过1000张门票，总标价超过1亿韩元。

文化部长官蔡辉荣表示：“倒卖门票是明显的犯罪行为，它剥夺了创作者和运动员的合法权益，并扰乱了市场秩序。” 蔡辉荣称倒卖门票是直接破坏公共生活秩序的犯罪行为，并敦促网络平台与执法部门继续合作。

此次打击行动正值韩国备受瞩目的棒球季后赛即将开打之际。职业体育赛事已成为倒卖球票的温床，备受瞩目的季后赛门票往往在几秒钟内售罄。在首轮打击行动中，约有68%的嫌疑人曾在韩国颇受欢迎的二手票务交易平台Ticketbay上发布过球票信息。

监管机构也在打击那些使用狡猾手段逃避法律制裁的黄牛党。

四人因将高价票隐藏在额外费用背后而被查处，例如强迫买家购买价格过高的商品，或声称加价只是“服务费”。当局明确表示，无论黄牛如何称呼这些额外费用，法律都只关注实际售价。

根据修订后的法律，违规者将面临最高可达罚单面值50倍的行政罚款。为进一步推动打击非法囤积罚单行为，举报非法囤积罚单的市民可获得最高5000万韩元的奖励。

随着韩国职棒季后赛的开始，当局计划在每个季后赛场馆与警方联合开展现场打击行动，将体育场巡逻与数字监控相结合，以保障前往球场入口的球迷的安全。

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。