Culture ministry reviews joint anti-scalping framework with KBO, clubs ahead of law change

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reviewed its joint response framework with relevant agencies Thursday, ahead of the amended National Sports Promotion Act taking effect Monday.

The ministry held an interagency meeting Thursday at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's Seoul branch, bringing together officials from the Korean National Police Agency, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), all 10 professional baseball clubs, ticketing platforms, the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation and the Korea Professional Sports Association to prepare for the anti-scalping law's enforcement.

The ministry said it briefed participants on the key provisions of the amended law and the planned operation of a reporting agency for illegal ticket transactions, then reviewed the readiness and response plans of the KBO, individual clubs and ticketing platforms, as well as areas requiring interagency cooperation.

The KBO and each club agreed to revise their ticket-sale terms and membership policies, and to impose effective sanctions — including purchase restrictions and suspension or revocation of membership — on season-ticket holders and paid members found to have engaged in illegal transactions.

The clubs also plan to set up reporting channels linked to the designated agency through their official websites and mobile applications. Ticketing platforms will upgrade their systems to detect abnormal transactions, such as bulk purchases and repeated access-and-cancellation patterns.

The Korean National Police Agency is establishing interpretive guidelines for the amended law, along with investigation procedures and a coordination framework with the ministry and the reporting agency. On that basis, it plans to launch investigations as soon as violations are confirmed and to respond strictly to illegal purchases and sales from the outset of the law's enforcement.