Despite the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) labeling ticket scalping as a “social evil” and launching crackdowns, illegal ticket resales continue to thrive online.

For the upcoming NCT WISH concert, scheduled from October 31 to November 2, VIP seats priced at 198,000 KRW (≈ $150) are reportedly being resold for as much as 1 million KRW, over five times the face value.

According to data released by government officials, the number of reports related to concert ticket scalping surged from 359 cases in 2020 to 4,224 cases in 2022, marking a more than tenfold increase.

In 2023 and 2024, there were 2,161 and 2,224 reports respectively, while in 2025 alone (January–August), 1,020 cases have already been filed.

Even at free concerts by well-known singers, resold tickets have appeared on the market for as much as 100,000 KRW (about $70) each, underscoring the severity of the issue.

However, enforcement remains challenging.

Under current law, authorities must prove that tickets were purchased through fraudulent means such as macros and then resold for profit — a standard that ticketing platforms find nearly impossible to verify.

Although the MCST announced plans to amend the law last year to penalize resales regardless of macro use, the revision has yet to take effect. Since 2023, only 5.6% of reported cases have been deemed valid for prosecution.

Shockingly, the Korea Creative Content Agency’s Fair Trade Center currently employs just one staff member dedicated to ticket scalping cases, who also handles other duties. Officials stress the urgent need to increase manpower and establish a real-time monitoring system to curb the ongoing issue.

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