'Revised Performance Act taking effect — scalper who made billions reselling tickets at up to 30 times face value arrested'
'Will make clear that profiting from scalping comes at a far greater cost'
President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that he would pursue scalpers to the end and recover all illicit profits, after police arrested a large-scale ticket scalper who had resold tickets at up to 30 times face value, pocketing billions of won.
"We will track down ticket scalping that robs people of their rightful chance to attend events, and we will absolutely recover every won of illegally gained profit," Lee wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Gyeonggi Northern District Police Agency's Cyber Crime Investigation Unit 2 announced Wednesday that it had arrested a man in his 30s, identified only by his surname initial A, on charges of obstruction of business and referred the case to prosecutors. A is accused of purchasing 8,967 tickets to popular concerts and sporting events between September 2018 and last April — a span of seven years and seven months — and reselling them at a markup.
Lee said the amended Performance Act, which took effect Aug. 28, was already showing results. "A scalper who resold tickets to idol concerts, overseas artists' Korea tours and sporting events at up to 30 times face value, pocketing billions of won, has been apprehended," he said.
He added that he would "make it unmistakably clear that those who profit illegally from scalping will inevitably pay a far greater price," and thanked the police officers involved for their efforts.
sunpine@heraldcorp.com
