South Korea is moving to strengthen its fight against ticket scalping, with upcoming concerts by K-pop supergroup BTS expected to serve as a model case for the government’s new enforcement framework.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday that it has launched a public-private consultative body aimed at eradicating illegal ticket resale in the performing arts and sports sectors, ahead of new legal provisions set to take effect in August.
“Only when each institution’s role — from blocking fraudulent purchases during ticket sales to monitoring resale platforms and quickly sharing information with investigative authorities — is connected organically can we achieve meaningful results,” Chae Hwi-young, the minister of culture, sports and tourism, said at the launch meeting of the task force.
The consultative body was launched in preparation for amendments to the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act, which will come into force on Aug. 28.
The revised legislation strengthens penalties against illegal ticket resale and introduces measures to curb bulk purchasing through automated programs or other unfair methods.
The minister added that the government aims to make upcoming BTS concerts a model example of coordinated anti-scalping enforcement before the revised laws formally take effect. BTS is returning to live performances in Korea for their 2026-2027 “Arirang” World Tour, kicking off with three shows at Goyang Stadium on April 9, 11 and 12 and further dates in Busan on June 12–13.
A total of 18 organizations joined the initiative, including government agencies such as the Fair Trade Commission and the National Police Agency, major ticketing platforms including Nol Ticket, Melon Ticket, Yes24, Coupang Play and Ticketlink, as well as secondhand trading platforms such as Naver, Karrot and Joonggonara.
Industry bodies and sports organizations, including the Korea Baseball Organization, also participated.
Ticketing companies said they would introduce advanced security systems to detect and block suspicious purchases while strengthening internal monitoring and tip-off channels.
Secondhand marketplaces pledged to regularly review listings suspected of ticket scalping and impose stricter sanctions, including deleting posts and restricting sellers who repeatedly violate platform policies.
Sports leagues and concert industry groups said they will expand on-site monitoring and public awareness campaigns to discourage illegal resale.
Authorities also plan closer data sharing between platforms and investigative agencies to track suspicious transactions and speed up enforcement.
The government said the new consultative body will continue working-level discussions through subcommittees to finalize enforcement rules and build an industry-wide response system.
