As demand for premium-screen showings surges — driven in large part by director Christopher Nolan's "Odyssey" — the Korean Film Council has launched a tip channel to collect reports of illegal ticket resales at special-format venues, including IMAX, 4DX and Dolby Cinema theaters.
The council announced Wednesday that it will accept reports on a rolling basis to assess the scale of scalping activity, protect audiences from harm and ensure a fair ticketing environment.
The shortage has been especially acute at IMAX venues. CGV Yongsan I'Park Mall's IMAX auditorium — widely known by the nickname "Yongamek" — has become a flashpoint, with pre-booked tickets frequently appearing on secondhand trading platforms at heavily marked-up prices following the recent run of Hollywood blockbusters.
"When a highly anticipated film opens, scalpers use macro programs to bulk-reserve seats at popular premium screens and then resell them at a premium on online secondhand platforms and social media," the council said. "This is causing growing harm and frustration among ordinary moviegoers."
In response, the council plans to open a dedicated reporting channel to gather specific cases of harm and evidence of illegal transactions. Eligible reports include instances where someone paid above face value for a premium-screen ticket, cases where scalping listings or suspicious activity were spotted on secondhand platforms, social media or ticket-trading sites, and situations involving suspected macro-program use or abnormally large bulk bookings.
Tips should be submitted by email to justice@kofic.or.kr and must include the film title, venue, screening date and time, and seat information, along with supporting materials such as screenshots of resale listings, chat logs and transaction URLs.
The identities of tipsters and all submitted materials will be kept strictly confidential and will not be disclosed publicly.
The council said it will use the collected reports to analyze the scalping distribution structure and the extent of audience harm, and will draw on the findings as groundwork for effective countermeasures — including consultations with major online trading platforms and relevant government agencies, improvements to anti-resale systems, and legislative and regulatory reforms.
"Scalpers profiting from this practice deprive ordinary audiences of their rightful chance to see a film and seriously undermine trust in the industry as a whole," the council's Fair Growth Center said. "Tipsters' identities and the content of their reports will be kept strictly confidential under applicable law, and we urge audiences to come forward actively."
balme@heraldcorp.com
