Amendments to Enforcement Decrees of Anti-Scalping Laws Take Effect

The Enforcement Decrees of the National Sports Promotion Act and the Public Performance Act (each amended on February 27, 2026 and collectively referred to as the “Anti-Scalping Laws”), which prohibit the illegal sales and purchase of admission tickets (“Illegal Trade”), took effect on August 28, 2026 (collectively, the “Amended Enforcement Decrees”).

The Amended Enforcement Decrees contain a number of changes from the drafts announced for public comment on May 26, 2026 (the “Draft Amendments”; please refer to our newsletter dated June 1, 2026 (link) for details). Set out below are the changes from the Draft Amendments that ticket sellers and online sales brokers should note. For the specific contents of the Amended Enforcement Decrees, please refer to the [Appendix].

Changes to the Obligation to Take Measures to Prevent Illegal Trades (Article 4-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act; Article 3-3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Performance Act)

(1)

Scope of identity verification

In the Draft Amendments, identity verification was required for both online and onsite sales. This requirement has been changed in the Amended Enforcement Decrees so that only online sales are now subject to the identity verification requirement.

In addition, in the Draft Amendments, identity verification was not required for transactions made through the user’s own account where the user’s identity had already been verified at the time of account creation. This exception has been deleted in the Amended Enforcement Decrees, and on the face of the provision, identity verification may be required even where the user’s identity had already been verified at the time of account creation.

(2)

Details and timeline of measures

The measures required if posts or messages relating to Illegal Trades are notified by a reporting agency or an investigative agency have also been revised. These measures, which must be taken within 24 hours (10 hours for online sales brokers in certain cases), have been changed from deletion, blocking of access and similar measures to measures restricting the display of the relevant posts or messages. In addition, while the Draft Amendments provided that the cases where online sales brokers must take measures within 10 hours are if there were “urgent grounds,” such as the imminence of the date of use or an offer involving a large amount, the Amended Enforcement Decrees delegate the definition of such cases to a subordinate regulation of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (“MCST”).

Further, the Draft Amendments provided that the above 24-hour (or 10-hour) deadline would be calculated based on business hours and, in the case of online sales brokers, allowed measures to be taken after the resolution of any unavoidable cause, such as a failure of the information processing system. However, all of these provisions have been deleted from the Amended Enforcement Decrees. Accordingly, businesses must take the required measures within the above deadline from the time of notification, regardless of business hours, and the Amended Enforcement Decrees provide no exception for unavoidable causes. Businesses are therefore advised to establish a system capable of responding at all times.

(3)

Obligations of online sales brokers

While the Draft Amendments required online sales brokers to determine for themselves whether an illegal purchase or illegal sale had occurred, the Amended Enforcement Decrees instead require only that a function be established enabling reports to be filed with a reporting agency.

In addition, under the Draft Amendments, if a reporting agency or an investigative agency requested deletion of certain information, online sales brokers were required to ensure that information of the “same or a similar type” did not appear in search results. This obligation has been changed to an obligation to restrict the display of posts or messages falling within the matters prescribed in the MCST’s subordinate regulation, such as those “identical in content” to the posts or messages notified.

(4)

Timing of application

A grace period not found in the Draft Amendments has been newly introduced. Among the obligations to take measures to prevent Illegal Trades, identity verification, establishment of the reporting function and measures to restrict the display of posts or messages must be implemented within one month from the effective date (by September 27, 2026). However, the advance notice obligations (i.e., notifying users that posts or messages relating to the distribution of circumvention or interference programs or relating to Illegal Trades may be restricted from display, and that Illegal Trades may be subject to criminal punishment or an administrative fine) are not subject to the grace period and apply from the effective date.

Changes to the Scope of Information Submission (Article 4-4 of the Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act; Article 3-5 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Performance Act)

The Draft Amendments listed the information subject to submission as the author information and access records for (i) posts offering the sale or lease of macro programs, (ii) posts repeatedly offering to purchase tickets at prices exceeding the face value and (iii) posts offering illegal sales, and (iv) the results of processing deletion requests from reporting agencies and investigative agencies.

By contrast, the Amended Enforcement Decrees simplify and consolidate these items into “author information (name, contact details and email address) and online network access records (date and time of access, IP address and device information) relating to posts or messages concerning the purchase or sale of admission tickets.”

Separately, item (iv) above was listed under the Draft Amendments as one of the items to be submitted upon request by a reporting agency. Under the Amended Enforcement Decrees, however, it forms a part of the obligation to take measures to prevent Illegal Trades, and results must therefore be submitted once the relevant measures are taken, even absent a separate request.

Changes to the Criteria for Imposition of Administrative Fine (Article 4-5 of the Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act and [Appended Table 1]; Article 3-6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Performance Act and [Appended Table 1])

Administrative fine continues to be calculated by multiplying the sales amount by a certain multiple. However, the multiple is now determined by reference to the “number of tickets sold”, rather than the “number of instances of illegal sale.” The Amended Enforcement Decrees also provide for reductions, for example, if the profit obtained through the violation is minor.

The criteria for calculating the sales amount, which forms the basis of the administrative fine, have likewise been streamlined. While the Draft Amendments included special rules on matters such as the split sale of period passes and sales with added commissions, as well as a provision allowing deduction of the purchase price paid to the immediately preceding seller, the Amended Enforcement Decrees adopt a simplified method under which the sales amount is the aggregate of the sales price (the amount actually borne by the purchaser) multiplied by the number of tickets sold.

The MCST has also released the Q&As on the Amendments to the Public Performance Act and the National Sports Promotion Act for the Prevention of Scalping, which explain its interpretation and enforcement policy with respect to the Amended Enforcement Decrees, and we recommend that you review them together with this newsletter (link). In addition, the Amended Enforcement Decrees delegate specific matters concerning the obligation to take measures to prevent Illegal Trades and the criteria for imposition of administrative fine to the MCST’s subordinate regulations, and the Regulatory Reform Committee has issued a supplementary recommendation that operational guidelines for reporting agencies be established promptly in order to clarify the standards for handling and enforcing reported cases. Businesses are therefore advised to review the contents of such subordinate regulations and operational guidelines going forward.

The Regulatory Reform Committee has also recommended that the review period be set at two years and that an ex post regulatory impact assessment be conducted in order to examine whether the Amended Enforcement Decrees serve their purpose of preventing Illegal Trades. Separately, on August 26, 2026, the MCST indicated that it would pursue amendments to the relevant legislation to address the illegal trade of movie tickets as well. Accordingly, we recommend that you continue to monitor subsequent developments concerning the prevention of Illegal Trades, including further legislative amendments.

[Appendix] Key Contents of the Amended Enforcement Decrees

Obligation of Ticket Sellers and Online Sales Brokers to Take Measures to Prevent Illegal Trades (Article 4-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act; Article 3-3 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Performance Act)

The amended Anti-Scalping Laws require (i) a person who sells admission tickets or is entrusted with such sales (including the initial seller; “Ticket Sellers”) and (ii) online sales brokers to take the measures prescribed in the Enforcement Decree to prevent Illegal Trades (Article 6-2, Paragraph 2 of the National Sports Promotion Act and Article 4-2, Paragraph 2 of the Public Performance Act). The Amended Enforcement Decrees set out these measures by type of business as follows.

(1)

Ticket Sellers

Measure	Details
Identity verification	A. Verify the identity of purchasers when selling admission tickets on the Network
Reporting function	B. Establish on the relevant Network a function enabling any person who discovers posts or messages (“Posts”) relating to the distribution of programs that circumvent or interfere with a fair purchase process, or relating to illegal purchases, to report such Posts to a reporting agency
Advance notice of display restriction	C. Provide advance notice that any Post described in item B. may be restricted from display
Advance notice of punishment	D. Provide advance notice that illegal purchases are subject to criminal punishment
Restriction of notified Posts	E. If a list of Posts described in item B. is notified in writing by a reporting agency or an investigative agency, take measures to restrict their display within 24 hours from such notification
Submission of results	F. Submit the results of the measures under item E. to the reporting agency or investigative agency

(2)

Online Sales Brokers

Measure	Details
Identity verification	A. Verify the identity of persons purchasing or selling admission tickets on the Network
Reporting function	B. Establish on the relevant Network a function enabling any person who discovers Posts relating to the distribution of programs that circumvent or interfere with a fair purchase process, or relating to illegal purchases or illegal sales, to report such Posts to a reporting agency
Advance notice of display restriction	C. Provide advance notice that any Post described in item B. may be restricted from display
Advance notice of punishment, etc.	D. Provide advance notice that illegal sales are subject to criminal punishment or an administrative fine
Restriction of identical Posts	E. If a Post created on the relevant Network falls within the matters prescribed by the MCST’s subordinate regulation, such as a Post identical in content to those notified under item F., take measures to restrict its display and submit the results to the reporting agency
Restriction of notified Posts	F. If a list of Posts described in item B. is notified in writing by a reporting agency or an investigative agency, take measures to restrict their display within 24 hours from such notification (or within 10 hours if the matter falls within those prescribed by the MCST’s subordinate regulation)
Submission of results	G. Submit the results of the measures under item F. to the reporting agency or investigative agency

Scope of Information Submission to Confirm Illegal Trades (Article 4-4 of the Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act; Article 3-5 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Performance Act)

The amended Anti-Scalping Laws allow a reporting agency to request Ticket Sellers or online sales brokers to submit purchase and sales records, information on purchasers and sellers and their access records, related Posts, and other information prescribed in the Enforcement Decree as necessary to confirm Illegal Trades (Article 6-3, Paragraph 3 of the National Sports Promotion Act and Article 4-3, Paragraph 3 of the Public Performance Act).

The Amended Enforcement Decrees prescribe the scope of such information as “author information (name, contact details and email address) and online network access records (date and time of access, IP address and device information) relating to Posts concerning the purchase or sale of admission tickets.”

Failure to submit or false submission of the above information may result in an administrative fine of up to KRW 5 million in accordance with the criteria below.

Administrative Fine	1st Violation	2nd Violation	3rd or Subsequent Violation
Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act	KRW 5 million (flat rate)
Enforcement Decree of the Public Performance Act	KRW 2.5 million	KRW 3.5 million	KRW 5 million

Calculation of Sales Amount and Criteria for Imposition of Administrative Fine on Illegal Sales (Article 4-5 of the Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act; Article 3-6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Performance Act)

Under the amended Anti-Scalping Laws, an administrative fine of up to 50 times the sales amount may be imposed on a person who illegally sells admission tickets (Article 6-4, Paragraph 1 of the National Sports Promotion Act and Article 4-4, Paragraph 1 of the Public Performance Act), and the Amended Enforcement Decrees set out the criteria for imposition in [Appended Table 1] of each Decree.

The sales amount is calculated as the aggregate of the sales price (the amount actually borne by the purchaser) multiplied by the number of tickets sold (the quantity of admission tickets purchased at that sales price).

Administrative fine is imposed as follows, depending on the number of tickets sold. An administrative fine may be reduced by up to one-half if (i) the profit obtained through the violation is minor, (ii) the violator has actively cooperated with the investigation, such as by admitting the violation and submitting relevant materials, or (iii) a reduction is otherwise warranted in light of the nature, degree, duration and frequency of the violation.

If one ticket was sold: An administrative fine of up to five times the sales amount may be imposed if the MCST publicly notifies that imposition is necessary in light of the nature and degree of the violation.
If two or more tickets were sold: The administrative fine is the sales amount multiplied by the multiple derived from the number of tickets sold and the sales amount (see tables below).

<Criteria under the Enforcement Decree of the National Sports Promotion Act>

Tickets Sold	Sales Amount*
Tickets Sold	20~100	100~250	250~500	500~750	750~1,000	1,000~1,250	1,250~1,500	1,500~2,000	2,000 or more
2	2x	5x	8x	11x	14x	19x	24x	29x	30x
3	4x	7x	10x	13x	16x	21x	26x	30x	30x
4	6x	9x	10x	15x	18x	23x	28x	30x	30x
5	8x	11x	14x	17x	20x	25x	30x	35x	40x
6	10x	13x	16x	19x	22x	27x	32x	37x	40x
7	12x	15x	18x	21x	24x	29x	34x	39x	40x
8	14x	17x	20x	23x	26x	31x	36x	40x	40x
9	16x	19x	20x	25x	28x	33x	38x	40x	40x
10 or more	18x	21x	24x	27x	30x	35x	40x	45x	50x

*Unit: KRW 1,000; each range is inclusive of the lower figure and exclusive of the higher figure

<Criteria under the Enforcement Decree of the Public Performance Act>

Tickets Sold	Sales Amount*
Tickets Sold	50~100	100~250	250~500	500~750	750~1,000	1,000~1,250	1,250~1,500	1,500~2,000	2,000 or more
2	2x	2x	3x	4x	5x	6x	7x	8x	10x
3	2x	3x	4x	5x	7x	8x	10x	10x	10x
4	3x	4x	5x	6x	8x	10x	12x	15x	15x
5	3x	4x	5x	7x	10x	12x	15x	18x	20x
6	4x	5x	6x	9x	12x	15x	18x	20x	25x
7	4x	6x	8x	10x	13x	18x	20x	25x	30x
8	5x	7x	9x	12x	15x	20x	23x	30x	35x
9	5x	8x	10x	13x	18x	23x	25x	35x	40x
10 or more	5x	8x	10x	15x	20x	25x	30x	40x	50x

*Unit: KRW 1,000; each range is inclusive of the lower figure and exclusive of the higher figure

[Korean Version]

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