South Korea moved a step closer to cracking down on the resale of concert and sports tickets, as a legislative committee on Thursday approved a bill imposing stiff financial penalties on scalpers. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean parliamentary committee on Friday, November 28, approved a landmark bill aimed at curbing the rampant black market for concert and sports tickets by empowering authorities to levy fines up to 50 times the ticket’s illegal resale price.
The National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee passed sweeping amendments to the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act. The legislation, informally known as the “Ticket Scalping Eradication Law,” explicitly prohibits the fraudulent purchase and resale of tickets for profit.
Under the new measures, authorities can confiscate all proceeds from illegal sales. The bill also introduces a whistleblower system, providing financial rewards to individuals who report scalping activities to the authorities.
The legislative push gained momentum following a directive from President Lee Jae-myung earlier this month. At a cabinet meeting on November 11, President Lee advocated for strong financial deterrents, stating, “The impact of a heavy fine is far greater than other forms of punishment,” and urged officials to review the implementation of severe penalties.
In the same session, the committee also passed two other significant pieces of legislation:
- Copyright Protection: An amendment to the Copyright Act, nicknamed the “Nunu TV Block Law,” was approved to combat online piracy. The bill grants the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism the authority to block access to networks distributing illegally copied content. It also introduces a punitive damages system, allowing for compensation of up to five times the amount of harm caused by copyright infringement.
- Tourism Fee Refunds: An amendment to the Tourism Promotion Development Fund Act was passed, creating a legal basis for refunding departure levies to individuals who cancel their overseas travel plans for personal reasons.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
