Experts call for stronger consumer protections in anti-scalping rules

Experts have called for stronger consumer protections to be incorporated alongside tougher penalties for ticket scalping under proposed amendments to the enforcement decrees of the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act.

An expert forum on the proposed amendments was held Sunday at the Korea Online Shopping Association. Attendees included Ko Hyong-seok, honorary chairman of the Korean Society of Consumer Law and a professor at Korea Maritime and Ocean University; Ha Myong-jin, secretary-general of the Korea Online Shopping Association; and Lee Myong-jae, a senior aide to National Assembly lawmaker Kim Dae-sik — representing consumer, industry and legislative perspectives on the key issues and potential improvements.

While all participants agreed on the policy goal of eradicating scalping, they said the enforcement decrees must also address the protection of legitimate consumer rights, regulatory equity across platforms, and clarity in enforcement standards as the rules are applied in practice.

From a consumer standpoint, participants stressed that buyers who purchased tickets through legitimate channels should not be caught up in the sanctions. Concerts and sporting events are subject to a range of unpredictable circumstances — schedule changes, personal emergencies and cancellations by fellow attendees — and overly broad restrictions on unavoidable ticket transfers could fuel consumer anxiety and confusion, they said.

Ko said that eradicating scalping and protecting consumers are not competing values but goals to be pursued together. He argued the system should be designed to block organized and habitual scalping while preserving a safe resale environment for genuinely unavoidable situations.

Industry representatives raised concerns about the effectiveness and fairness of the enforcement decrees. While domestic platform operators are cooperating with government policy through monitoring and reporting, they warned that actual transactions could easily migrate to overseas platforms, social media and open chat services where enforcement is far more difficult.

“If responsibility and obligations are concentrated solely on domestic operators, a balloon effect could emerge in the market,” Ha said, warning the shift could lead to greater consumer harm and undermine the effectiveness of the regulations. He also recommended that rather than imposing excessive restrictions on legitimate operators, the government pursue practical anti-scalping measures through public-private cooperation and self-regulation.

On the legislative side, participants said more detailed examination is needed of the criteria for determining habitual and commercial scalping, the structure of penalty surcharges, and enforcement mechanisms.

“We need to listen carefully to diverse voices from the field so that the legislative intent can be fully realized,” Lee said. “The specific criteria for judgment and the enforcement framework need to be spelled out in greater detail.”

The amendments to the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act, announced in late February, introduced a ban on fraudulent ticket purchases and sales regardless of whether macro programs were used, a reward system for informants, penalty surcharges of up to 50 times the sale price, and provisions for confiscation and recovery. The government plans to finalize the decrees after collecting public comments during the legislative notice period, which runs through July 6.

spa@heraldcorp.com