Busan Police Report Arrest of 11 Individuals for Illegal Activities at BTS Concert

 

BTS met with 110,000 audience members in Busan, a city they visited for the first time in three years and eight months, successfully creating a citywide festival that went far beyond a concert. In particular, the event attracted a massive influx of fans from both Korea and overseas, as it coincided with the group's 13th debut anniversary.

At the end of the final concert, BTS and ARMY sang a birthday song together in celebration. The members also shared their heartfelt emotions, saying, "Returning to our hometown to celebrate our anniversary and sing here with all of you is truly meaningful. We believe we were able to endure and persevere through this long journey because all of you were here for us. We also want to continue making music with ARMY for a long time. We will never forget today. We hope you fully embrace and enjoy these precious emotions that can only be experience right here."

Although BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG' IN BUSAN, held on June 12 and 13, concluded with cheers from ARMYs around the world and without any major safety incidents, there were still a few blemishes. One of them was a problem that plagues concerts everywhere: ticket scalping.

According to the Busan Provincial Police Agency, as of June 14, authorities had arrested a total of 11 people after deploying approximately 70 officers from a special task force to intensify inspections targeting illegal ticket transactions around Busan Asiad Main Stadium, where BTS's concerts were held.

The investigation found that the suspects employed rather sophisticated methods. They intentionally loosened the admission wristbands worn by concertgoers so that the bands would not break when removed, allowing them to be transferred to buyers afterward. Although entry regulations required attendees to present both an electronic ticket and a wristband, the suspects are believed to have exploited peak admission periods, when staff primarily relied on wristband verification, to carry out the scheme.

Specifically, a Korean woman in her 40s, identified only as "A," was caught by police at around 5:20 p.m. on June 12 while placing a concert admission wristband on a Chinese woman. A admitted to reselling the ticket, which she had acquired from someone she met online. It was later revealed that she sold the ticket, originally priced a 220,000 won (approx. US$144,93), for 680,000 won (approx. US$447,95).

Including woman A, a total of four South Koreans were found engaging in black-market ticket transactions with foreign nationals using similar methods. Among them was a South Korean man in his 30s who was apprehended after authorities received a report through the 112 emergency hotline that he was brokering scalped tickets for Chinese buyers. The group was found to have resold tickets with an original face value of 220,000 won for prices ranging from 350,000 won to 550,000 won (approx. US$230,56 to US$362,31).

Foreign nationals were also caught by police for ticket scalping. A Chinese woman, indentified as "B," was spotted placing wristbands on three women from her own country at around 4:30 p.m. on June 12, but she initially denied the allegations. When police escorted B to the ticket booth to verify her identity, she eventually confessed to scalping, though she reportedly refused to disclose the amount of profit she had made.

Another Chinese woman in her 20s, indentified as "C," was caught by police while attempting to hand over an admission wristband—which she had removed by rubbing it with ethanol-soaked cotton pads—to seven people, including Filipino ARMYs.

Police imposed fines of 160,000 won each (approx. US$105.40) each on the 11 individuals caught selling scalped tickets, in accordance with the Minor Offenses Act.

An official from the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "Ticket scalping is a clear illegal act that tarnished the reputation of K-pop and disrupts a healthy performance culture." The official added, "We will continue to crack down on ticket scalping at large public events, including major concerts and sporting events."