A man in his thirties was arrested by police after amassing billions of won in excess profits, going up to 30 times the original price, by obtaining large quantities of tickets for various shows, notably K-POP concerts, using a macro program.
According to the media outlet News1 on September 16, the 2nd Cyber Crime Investigation Team of the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police referred and placed in detention a man in his thirties, A, on charges such as obstruction of business.
According to the police, “A” is suspected of having generated approximately 2.4 billion won in revenue by purchasing 8,967 tickets for famous idol concerts, foreign artist concerts in Korea, trot concerts, musicals, and sports matches using a macro program and accounts under other people’s names over a period of about 7 years and 7 months, from September 2018 to April of this year, before reselling them.
“A”, who had no specific job, used the online accounts of 7 people, including his family and relatives, to store and distribute the reserved tickets. Then, he resold the tickets up to 30 times their original price by handing over the admission wristbands directly in person on-site or by changing the delivery address. Furthermore, to pass himself off as a normal business, he registered his company in the e-commerce sector, and it was revealed that he searched for accomplices or shared information by being active in the country’s largest closed social network chat room for illegal ticket scalping.
After becoming aware of information regarding the arrest of a large illegal ticket scalping cartel by the police last April, “A” attempted to destroy evidence by formatting his PC and mobile phone. He also sought to evade the investigation net by conducting artificial intelligence (AI) searches regarding police investigation methods on illegal ticket scalping, but he was caught thanks to the police’s digital forensics investigation, which had already initiated an internal investigation based on the chat room in question.
During the investigation, “A” denied the charges, stating: “I did not know that ticket scalping was illegal and I paid my taxes conscientiously,” but the court recognized the severity of the charges and issued an arrest warrant.
The police estimate that about two-thirds of the total sales amount of 2.4 billion won constitutes “A”‘s net profit. It was confirmed that “A” purchased an apartment and two commercial properties using the proceeds from this crime. The police took pre-indictment forfeiture preservation measures for a total of 1.26439 billion won, including the two commercial properties in “A”‘s name and bank deposit claims.
A police official stated: “Illegal ticket scalping is a crime that undermines the legitimate right to attend a performance and disrupts market order,” adding: “We plan to rigorously pursue the tracking, arrest, and recovery of criminal proceeds for other suspects involved.”
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: News 1
