Scalper arrested for reselling idol concert tickets bought with macros, profiting $300,000

South Korean police have arrested a 30-year-old scalper who amassed over 400 million won (approximately $300,000 USD) by illegally reselling idol concert tickets. The suspect used sophisticated macro programs to purchase tickets in bulk, circumventing anti-scalping measures on major ticketing websites.

Authorities revealed that between November 2024 and October of the previous year, the individual created and utilized 1,198 accounts under foreign names to acquire a large volume of concert tickets. These tickets were then resold on used trading platforms at significantly inflated prices.

The macro program, developed by the suspect using their expertise in e-commerce, was designed to bypass ticketing site security and register sales listings in rapid succession. This allowed the scalper to buy and sell 70 to 80 tickets per minute. Over approximately one year, the suspect distributed around 1,700 tickets, generating a net profit of 420 million won.

Ticket prices were marked up from three to thirteen times the original cost, with some individual tickets fetching as much as 2.73 million won (around $1,900 USD). The investigation was initiated following a request from the Korea Creative Content Agency. Police apprehended the suspect at their Seoul residence, where luxury watches, jewelry, and high-end shoes were discovered. The suspect was also found to drive a luxury sports car.

Authorities seized approximately 200 million won in cash from a safe and have applied for a pre-indictment preservation order for the illicit profits. Further investigation is underway to examine the suspect's alleged practice of purchasing foreign identities via Telegram for 30,000 won each.