Man Arrested for Pocketing $300,000 by Scalping Idol Tickets with Bot Program

South Korean authorities have arrested a 30-year-old man accused of illegally scalping idol concert tickets, making a profit of over 420 million won (approximately US$300,000). The man allegedly used a sophisticated, self-developed macro program to bypass ticketing site security measures and purchase large quantities of tickets.

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The suspect developed the macro program himself using computer knowledge learned while working in e-commerce. The program was designed to bypass or interfere with the ticketing site's anti-bot measures (CAPTCHA) and to continuously post sales listings on second-hand trading sites in seconds.

Investigators revealed that the suspect, identified as 'A', operated from November 2024 to October 2025. He employed a network of 1,198 foreign-registered accounts to buy tickets from major domestic ticketing platforms. These tickets were then resold on second-hand marketplaces at prices ranging from three to 13 times their original face value.

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In this manner, the suspect was able to purchase 70 to 80 tickets per minute and resell them.

The macro program, created by 'A' using his knowledge of e-commerce, was designed to circumvent anti-bot measures like CAPTCHAs and rapidly list tickets for resale. This allowed him to purchase 70 to 80 tickets per minute. In total, he is believed to have scalped around 1,700 tickets within a year.

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It was investigated that the suspect pocketed a net profit of 420 million won (approximately US$300,000) after excluding ticket purchase costs, by distributing about 1,700 scalped tickets over approximately one year.

Police apprehended 'A' in Seoul after analyzing transaction records and collaborating with international entities. They have also requested a pre-indictment seizure of his criminal proceeds. The investigation is expanding to determine if 'A' had accomplices, as transaction patterns suggested repeated payments to specific individuals. Authorities are also working with credit card companies to improve payment authorization processes, as the macro program automated the payment stage.

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During the analysis of the flow of criminal proceeds, we confirmed circumstances where money was repeatedly deposited to a specific individual.