Culture ministry to crack down on scalping at baseball playoff games

The culture ministry said Tuesday it will join police and baseball officials in on-site enforcement against ticket scalping at every game of the professional baseball postseason, which begins Oct. 14.

The crackdown will cover stadium box offices, main entrances and surrounding areas on each game day, with staffing and hours adjusted to match the schedule. Enforcement will focus on the hours before first pitch and on anyone reselling tickets in bulk or approaching buyers near the stadium.

The ministry, the National Police Agency and local police stations, the Sports Promotion Corporation and the Korea Baseball Organization have set up a contact network to share tip-offs and suspected transactions. Cases identified on site will be passed to police immediately with the material needed to establish what happened.

Since amended enforcement decrees took effect on Aug. 28, the Sports Promotion Corporation has run a tip line and online monitoring. As of Oct. 7, it had received 90,000 reports of illegal sales in sports, and about 40,000 suspect posts were restricted from view after duplicates were removed.

On Oct. 6, the ministry asked police to investigate 121 people suspected of illegal dealings, including high-price and bulk sales.

"The chance to watch fall baseball, which fans have waited for, must not become an unfair profit for scalpers," Culture Minister Choe Hwi-young said. "We will work closely with the police, the KBO, the clubs and the Sports Promotion Corporation to respond strictly to ticket scalping from online to the stadium itself, and to follow-up measures."

The ministry will also run anti-scalping booths outside stadiums on major game days, where staff will explain how to report scalping and what penalties apply, and stadium screens and the social media channels of the KBO and individual clubs will carry similar messages.

Suspected scalping can be reported through an integrated website for sports and performance ticketing, and rewards are paid once the legal requirements and procedures are met.