A Market Fueled by Speculation as Scalping Becomes Routine
Adopting Shared Responsibility and AI Systems
Changing Consumer Perceptions of Illegal Practices
The moment you get your hands on a ticket, the war begins. As soon as ticket sales open, countless fingers race across keyboards, but seats for popular concerts vanish in the blink of an eye. A few minutes later, the same tickets appear on online black markets at several times their original price-a scene that has become all too familiar. The “ticket war” has spread beyond K-pop concerts to professional baseball, musicals, and various sports events, with scalped tickets trailing behind like a shadow of this conflict.
Scalpers exploit vulnerabilities in ticketing systems using macro programs. They secure seats with dozens or even hundreds of fake accounts, then resell them at a premium on secondhand trading platforms or unofficial online communities. It is not uncommon for a concert ticket originally priced at 150,000 won to soar to 1 million won. Meanwhile, real fans lose their chance to enjoy culture at face value. As a result, venues are filled not with passionate audiences, but with the profit calculations of speculators.
Recently, President Lee Jaemyung instructed officials to consider introducing a “whistleblower reward system” as a measure to eradicate ticket scalping. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is pursuing a plan to impose a fine of at least ten times the scalping profit, with 10% of that amount paid as a reward to whistleblowers. On paper, the policy appears tough, but there are considerable doubts about its effectiveness.
The first major limitation is that most scalping transactions now occur online and on overseas platforms. If servers are located abroad or transactions take place directly between individuals, enforcement is virtually impossible. Furthermore, as long as there is demand for scalped tickets, supply will persist. The consumer mindset of “just once won’t hurt” is another pillar supporting the scalping market.
Earlier this year, the Taiwanese government classified ticket scalping as a “fraudulent act” and strengthened criminal penalties. Since 2019, Japan has enforced the “Act on Prohibition of Unauthorized Ticket Resale,” which imposes up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 1 million yen (about 950,000 won) for profits gained from abnormal resale. The United Kingdom has also tightened regulations on “ticket resale platforms,” making it mandatory to disclose transaction histories. The core of these measures is blocking macros, reinforcing real-name systems, and holding platforms jointly accountable.
We too need to introduce a “shared responsibility system,” offering incentives to ticketing platforms that establish technical defenses and imposing fines on those that enable illegal transactions. Although real-time macro detection and blocking technology already exists, the real issue is whether ticketing system operators are willing to invest in it. Ticketing sites promote themselves by emphasizing “speed,” but their very structure has become a feeding ground for scalpers. There are clear limits to what government crackdowns alone can achieve.
From the ticket sales stage, we must implement AI-based fraud detection systems and establish both technical and institutional measures, such as one-person-one-seat real-name reservations and stricter on-site identity verification. Above all, consumers themselves must recognize that “scalping is a crime.” The most powerful way to cut off demand in the illegal market is, in the end, simply not to buy.
Performances and sports are not mere entertainment. They are cultural festivals that offer hope and comfort, and public spaces where communities come together. Scalping blocks access to these events and reduces culture to a “privilege bought with money.”
What we need now is not just enforcement, but a fair cultural ecosystem created by the government, platforms, and consumers working together. The war against scalping is, at its core, a fight to protect fair opportunity-and victory in this fight will be the first step toward a world where everyone can enjoy culture at its true value.
Hot Picks Today
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
