[MZ Tech] ⑤ Fan Loyalty is Valuable... The 'Ticket Resell' Craze

Resale of Performance Tickets Online
3 to 5 Times Original Price... Professional Resellers on the Rise

Editor's NoteFinancial technology for the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) is both an investment and a culture. While the goal is to make money, when attention rises among peers, everyone rushes to 'prove' their success. This is why resell tech (securing scarce items and reselling them at a premium) and fractional investment (multiple people investing together in one asset and sharing the profits) have become popular. We explored the investment methods of the MZ generation, who approach financial technology with ingenious methods unimaginable to older generations.

Booking tickets for popular singers' performances is almost like a war. If you are even one minute late, tickets are often sold out immediately. This limited supply has created a secondary market called 'ticket resell.' It is a method where someone who successfully booked a ticket but cannot attend due to personal reasons sells the ticket to another fan at a premium. For the MZ generation, who are familiar with online fandoms, ticket resell is already a common part of fan culture.

Ticket resell is not limited to idol or singer concerts. All 'admission tickets' where demand far exceeds supply become targets for ticket resell. This includes IMAX tickets for popular movies that are always sold out, important sports games, and musicals featuring famous idols. For example, special screening tickets for James Cameron's movie "Avatar 2: The Way of Water" also became targets for resell.

Ticket Prices Doubling Is Mild... Sometimes Jumping Dozens of Times

BTS concert venue. / Photo by Yonhap News

In the past, ticket resell was done modestly by people who succeeded in booking tickets but could not attend due to circumstances and transferred them to other fans. However, as the performance market matured and online transactions became active, professional 'resellers' (people who generate profits through secondary transactions) have emerged. Especially for popular tickets, resell prices can be 3 to 5 times the original price, and in some cases dozens of times higher, leading to fierce competition among resellers.

Professional platforms that mediate ticket resell transactions have already been established. 'TicketBay,' the largest ticket resell site in Korea, is a representative example. These platforms have various measures in place to ensure safe transactions of tickets, and in return, they deduct a certain commission when resellers sell tickets at prices higher than the original cost to earn profits. TicketBay's membership has already exceeded 1.8 million.

Not everyone welcomes the formation of the resell market. Complaints arise that ordinary fans are suffering as profit-driven resellers run rampant. In the past, ticket booking was a competition only among fans, but now thousands of resellers have joined, making it even more intense.

Macro-Driven Hoarding and Scalping Rampant... Obstacles to Market Expansion

Ticket scalping is considered a minor offense, but there is no legal basis to regulate ticket resales conducted in online spaces.

Moreover, some resellers use dozens of macro programs that automatically press the booking button on websites. As fans' dissatisfaction grows, ticket sellers have employed various measures such as monitoring resell activities or setting passwords on booking windows to block macros.

There are also criticisms questioning how resellers differ from scalpers. However, current law does not provide legal grounds to regulate online resell. Currently, scalping is considered a minor offense punishable by a fine of up to 200,000 KRW, detention, or a penalty. However, the law defines scalping as trading tickets at places like 'performance venues, stadiums, stations, ferry terminals, or bus stops' where offenders are caught. This means that secondary transactions of tickets on online platforms are not considered scalping.

Several bills to regulate excessive ticket resell have been proposed in the National Assembly, but none have reached the review stage so far. For example, in September last year, Assemblywoman Jo Su-jin of the People Power Party proposed an amendment to the Performance Act that would impose a fine of up to 10 million KRW if tickets are transferred to others at prices above the original cost without the original seller's consent. This bill is currently pending in the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.