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, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Assembly on Thursday approved sweeping revisions to cultural and copyright laws aimed at curbing ticket scalping and illegal online content distribution, marking one of the government’s strongest efforts yet to protect consumers and the country’s creative industries.
The legislation, passed during a plenary session, amends the Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act to outlaw illicit ticket resales regardless of whether automated macro programs are used. Until now, only scalping conducted through such software was subject to punishment.
Under the revised laws, purchasing tickets for resale or repeatedly selling them at prices higher than face value for commercial purposes will be fully prohibited. Violators may face administrative fines of up to 50 times the transaction amount, while profits gained through illegal resale can be confiscated or recovered.
The bills also introduce a reward system for whistleblowers who report unlawful ticket purchasing or resale activities.
In a separate move, lawmakers passed amendments to the Copyright Act — commonly referred to as the “NoonooTV (Illegal streaming website) blocking law” — strengthening authorities’ ability to combat digital piracy. The revised law allows the culture minister to order immediate access blocks to websites distributing illegal copies of copyrighted material through telecommunications networks.
The amendments further introduce punitive damages of up to five times the proven losses in cases of copyright infringement and increase criminal penalties to a maximum of seven years in prison or fines of up to 100 million won.
Most provisions will take effect six months after promulgation, though measures related to the blocking of illegal content will be implemented earlier, beginning three months after the law is officially announced.
Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said the revisions reflected months of consultations with artists, producers and industry stakeholders, calling them “a meaningful step toward resolving long-standing problems that undermine the sustainable growth of K-culture.”
The government said the measures are intended to strengthen consumer protection, restore fairness in the ticketing market and reinforce safeguards for South Korea’s rapidly expanding cultural and creative economy.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
