Police bust AI-powered K-pop ticket scalping ring

Police in South Korea have dismantled a ticket scalping ring that used macro programs to snap up large quantities of K-pop concert tickets and resell them for as much as 25 times the original price, generating illegal profits of 7.1 billion won ($5.3 million). Authorities said the scheme targeted about 190 concerts and involved the resale of more than 33,000 tickets.

The Cyber Investigation Division of the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency said Tuesday it had apprehended 16 suspects on charges including obstruction of business and violations of the Performance Act. Three suspects, including a 28-year-old identified as the group’s sales ringleader and another who led the software development, were arrested and sent to prosecutors. Investigators said the organization operated as a structured network, assigning members specific roles such as managing resale operations, developing macro programs and securing tickets through automated booking systems.

Police said the suspects used artificial intelligence-based tools to develop programs that allowed them to reach the seat selection stage even before reservation pages officially opened on major ticketing platforms. One program placed orders in a “payment waiting” status, while another captured canceled tickets through a method known as “holding transfer,” which shifts reservations between accounts. By effectively bypassing ticketing platforms’ security systems, the group was able to secure large blocks of tickets for highly sought-after performances. In one instance, a single participant obtained as many as 126 tickets.

The tickets were then resold at prices averaging three to four times the original value to individuals or overseas scalpers. For example, tickets for K-pop star G-Dragon’s world tour concert at Goyang Stadium in March last year, originally priced at 220,000 won, were resold for up to 2.7 million won. VIP tickets for Blackpink’s world tour concert in July last year were traded for around 4 million won. In some cases, tickets that initially cost 200,000 won were resold for as much as 5 million won.

To evade identity checks at concert venues, the group also built its own system to manipulate mobile identification cards issued through the government service app Government24. The suspects also ran a chat room with 1,309 participants where members shared macro programs, methods for bypassing ticketing platforms’ security systems and updates on police enforcement activities.

Investigators said that as authorities closed in, the ringleader even asked the generative artificial intelligence service ChatGPT about the likelihood of being detained based on the allegations he faced. He reportedly asked whether someone involved in a scalping operation generating annual revenue of 600 million won could face a travel ban or arrest warrant and whether hiring a lawyer and voluntarily surrendering might help avoid detention. He was eventually taken into custody.

Police said they launched an intensive crackdown on macro-based ticket scalping in August last year. Investigators first arrested lower-level resellers at concert venues and then worked their way up the network to identify those running the operation. Authorities said they are pursuing another development ringleader who fled overseas through an Interpol red notice and will continue investigating international ticket scalping networks.


고진영 기자 goreal@donga.com