South Korea's National Assembly officially enacts toughest-ever law cracking down on ticket scalping ahead of BTS's World Tour

 

The ticket sales performance of BTS's ARIRANG World Tour once again stunned fans worldwide, much like the group's previous tours. Both pre-sale and general-sale tickets sold out rapidly, reaffirming BTS's enduring global appeal. As part of the ARIRANG tour, BTS sold out multiple concert at 44 stadiums worldwide within just three days of ticket sales opening. At several venues, tickets were reportedly sold out within minutes, promoting fans to compare the experience to "not even having time to see where their seats were." 

Among these, the three concerts scheduled for April 9, 11, and 12 at the main stadium of the Goyang Sports Complex in Gyeonggi Province reportedly sold out during the early pre-sale on the 22nd, which was exclusive to official fan club members. Notably, more than 100,000 fans were said to have rushed to join the online queue within just a few minutes.

However, the issue of scalping and ticket speculation continues to persist. Astonishingly, only a few hours after the pre-sale ended, more than half of the tickets reportedly appeared on the secondary market at exorbitant prices. On the same day, ticket resale websites proliferated, with some even creating Excel files dozens of pages long listing seat prices for the Goyang concert—marked up five to ten times above their original value.

This problem has existed for years at virtually all K-pop idol concerts. Although management agencies and distributors have implemented various countermeasures—including identity verification and multiple rounds of fan account authentication—scalpers have continued to find ways to circumvent these systems.

As the situation became increasingly alarming especially ahead of BTS's massive concerts, the South Korean government recently rushed to pass a series of revised laws during a plenary session. These measures aim to ban ticket scalping in the performance and sport sectors while also curbing the illegal distribution of Korean content. The move paved the way for stricter enforcement against both practices, which authorities have described as major threats to the country's cultural industries.

Previously, at a policy briefing with President Lee Jae-myung in December, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Chae Hwi-young described illegal content distribution and ticket scalping as the "two most pressing challenges" facing South Korea's cultural industry and pledged swift legislative action.

The amendments to the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act introduce a comprehensive ban on all forms of ticket scalping, regardless of whether automated programs of "macros" are used.

In the past, law enforcement focused mainly on scalping conducted through macro programs, making it difficult to persecute cases in which the use of tools could not be technically proven. Under the revised laws, any act intended to undermine or disrupt a fair ticket-purchasing process for resale purposes, or repeatedly selling tickets above face value for profit, is now illegal.

The amendments also impose new legal obligations in ticket sellers and operators of online marketplaces, requiring them to implement technical and administrative measures to prevent illegal resales. The government stated that this change reflects its recognition that scalping is a systemic distribution issue rather than the misconduct of isolated individuals.

Penalties include administrative fines up to 50 times the ticket price, confiscation or recovery of illicit gains, and expanded investigative authority for designated agencies. Ticket sellers or platforms that fail to comply with data submission requirements may face fines up to five million won (approx. US$ 3,470).

A whistleblower reward system Will also be introduced to encourage public reporting of illegal ticket transactions. The government aims to dismantle a scalping market it estimates to be worth more than 100 billion won (approx. US$ 69,385,910) annually. 

The revised ticketing laws are expected to take effect in the second half of this year. Before enforcement begins, the ministry plans to establish a public-private tasks force and launch public awareness campaigns to curb ticket scalping.

Minister Chad said the passage of the bills marked the conclusion of months of consultations with industry stakeholders.

"These amendments reflect our commitment to resolving the real difficulties faced on the ground," Chae said. "They will play a significant role in eliminating illegal content distribution and ticket scalping, both of which undermine the sustainable growth of K-culture and its ecosystem." 

Meanwhile, The revised Copyright Act Introduces an emergency website-blocking mechanism that allows the Minister of Culture to order internet service providers to immediately block access to copyright-infringing websites when violations are deemed clear and likely to cause irreparable harm.

Notably, the new system permits the ministry to block access to illegal overseas-hosted websites—a power previously exercised only by the Korea Communications Standards Commission—allowing whichever agency detects a violation first to act more swiftly.

The amendments also introduces provisions for punitive damages in cases of intentional or repeated copyright infringement. Courts may now award compensation of up to five times the proven damages, taking into account factors such as intent, scale of harm, economic benefits gained, and the duration and the frequency of violations.

Criminal penalties have also been strengthened. The maximum prison sentence has been increased from five to seven years, while the maximum fine has been raised from 50 million won to 100 million won (approx US$ 34,593 to US$ 69,186). The commercial operation of websites that provide links to infringing content, as well as posting such links for profit, Will now be subject to strict punishment.