Macro manipulation rise across the country

When keywords such as “macro sharing,” “mouse macro,” and “keyboard macro” were entered into a search engine, numerous links to blogs sharing installation files of macro programs emerged. It took less than five minutes to download a macro program from one of these blogs and configure it to generate constant clicks.

It has come to light that macro programs generated two-thirds of the cheers (19.88 million clicks) on Daum, a Korean portal site, during the Hangzhou Asian Games men’s football quarterfinal match between South Korea and China on Sunday. Analysts point out that macro manipulation has become a new norm in Korean society, deeply entrenched in various aspects of daily lives, including ticket purchases, college course registrations, and keyword rankings in Internet shopping platforms.

Yoo, a college student working part-time as an online ticket proxy, mentioned that he purchased six to seven macro programs, each priced between 100,000 and 120,000 won. These programs helped him bypass pop-up windows designed to prevent manipulation, allowing him to purchase tickets for popular performances and events for resale. “Tickets for highly sought-after performances often fetch prices higher than their original value, ranging from 500,000 won to even 1 million won,” Yoo said. “I’ve been able to earn a significant amount through this endeavor.”

Marketing companies employ more discreet tactics in sectors such as online advertising and shopping, where the number of clicks directly correlates with revenue. Given that repeated access from the same IP address arouses suspicion, these marketing firms utilize VPNs and run macro programs. VPNs facilitate manipulation by making it appear that the access originates from multiple IP addresses while using a single computer. Furthermore, the access point can be manipulated. In the case of Daum, the clicks were manipulated to appear as if they originated from one IP address in the Netherlands and another in Japan.

As macro manipulation becomes more preval‎ent, illegal ticket sellers have grown bolder, making it increasingly challenging to purchase tickets through conventional means. To address this issue, an amended Performance Act bill, which prohibits illegal online ticket trading, was passed in the National Assembly in February and is scheduled to take effect in March next year. Those found violating the law may face imprisonment for less than one year or a fine of less than 10 million won.


o0@donga.com