Ahead of the start of professional baseball's postseason (autumn baseball), the crackdown on ticket scalping is expanding from online platforms to stadium venues. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that it will crack down on illegal ticket sales at host stadiums and surrounding areas during all postseason games beginning October 14. The measure is intended to curb illicit sales during the autumn baseball period, when demand for tickets surges, and to protect fans' opportunities to attend games.

■ Police, KBO, and Clubs Conduct Joint On-Site Inspections at Stadiums

The National Police Agency, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), clubs, and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation are participating in the crackdown. On-site inspections will focus on ticket booths and main entrance gates. The relevant agencies plan to respond by linking any illicit sales caught on-site to investigations and fine-imposition procedures.

■ Online Response Continues in Parallel... A Total of 90,000 Reports Received

Efforts against scalping through online reporting and monitoring are also ongoing. In line with the enforcement of the amended National Sports Promotion Act on August 28, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism designated the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation as the reporting agency for sports ticket scalping, and has been responding to illicit sales based on received reports and online monitoring.

As of October 7, a total of 90,000 reports of illicit ticket sales in the sports sector have been received. Of some 47,000 reports, excluding duplicates, the exposure of about 40,000 suspicious posts has been restricted. On October 6, investigation was requested to the police for 121 cases suspected of illicit transactions, such as sales at high prices or in large quantities. This is a referral for investigation of suspected illicit transactions and does not mean that illegality has been confirmed.

■ This Season's Focus: Adding On-Site Inspections to Online Response

This postseason crackdown is characterized by the addition of on-site inspections to the previous online post-based response. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to strengthen anti-scalping measures at all autumn baseball games through cooperation with the police and the baseball community, and to prevent fans' opportunities to watch games from being undermined by illicit ticket sales.

[This article was written with AI assistance based on an announcement by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Whether the targets of reports and investigation referrals violated the law will be determined through related investigations and procedures.]