Tickets for ‘G.O.D Concert’ sell for 300,000 KRW despite being free; KBS warns of legal action if detected

KBS has issued a warning of legal action after discovering that tickets for the ‘G.O.D Concert,’ which was advertised as a free event, are being sold for 300,000 KRW (South Korean Won).

On the 9th, ticket reservations for the G.O.D concert took place. This concert ticket is for the ‘KBS 50th Anniversary, G.O.D 25th Anniversary KBS Grand Plan: G.O.D’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘G.O.D’) event, which was organized ahead of the group’s 25th debut anniversary.

Regarding the ticket reservations for ‘G.O.D,’ KBS distributed a press release stating that it had set a record of “sold out in just 3 minutes after the start of ticket reservations.” It also mentioned that there were waiting queues with as many as 51,900 people trying to access the tickets simultaneously.

The tickets for ‘G.O.D,’ which sold out in 3 minutes, were seen for sale on an online second-hand trading site on the 10th. Despite the fact that the event is free, some netizens were attempting to sell these tickets, even requesting prices of 300,000 KRW. This practice is referred to as “am-tickets” (selling free tickets for a high price). Some netizens even posted on social media accounts, attempting to trade these free tickets for a price.

Amidst the appearance of these resold tickets for a free concert that sold out in 3 minutes, KBS, the organizer of ‘G.O.D,’ stated that it would take strong measures against the unauthorized resale of tickets. KBS had previously announced that the ‘G.O.D’ concert was free, and therefore the tickets were also supposed to be free.

KBS spokesperson stated to Star News on the 11th, “Recently, we have noticed instances of ticket trading for our concert on social media platforms and online second-hand trading sites.” They further emphasized, “KBS will take strict measures including tracking and legal actions if such cases are detected. Furthermore, for the G.O.D concert, we have announced that personal identification up to standing seat number 200 in each section is required. Entry will not be allowed if there’s a mismatch between the ticket holder’s identification and the purchaser’s identification.”

The spokesperson added, “This kind of issue is not limited to just the G.O.D concert. In many influential concerts, ticket scalping through the use of macros and other means has occurred repeatedly. This is a challenging problem that even ticket platforms find difficult to address.” They appealed, “We ask that fans refrain from engaging in actions that blur the intention of free performances due to misguided enthusiasm. Nevertheless, if significant resale transactions are detected in the future, KBS plans to take separate strong measures.”

Meanwhile, ‘G.O.D’ is scheduled to take place on September 9th at 6:30 PM at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon. It will be broadcast for the first time on KBS 2TV on September 28th at 8:30 PM.