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Court sentences individual to 2 years in prison over K-pop concert ticket scam

Published: 04 May. 2025, 13:50 Updated: 04 May. 2025, 17:51

An image of a statue of Justitia, the goddess of justice [KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

Changwon District Court in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, sentenced a 26-year-old to two years in prison for defrauding victims by falsely claiming to sell concert tickets for popular K-pop artists, the court said on Sunday.

Prosecutors said the defendant posted fake listings between August and November last year on a reselling website, claiming to sell tickets for concerts by two famous Korean singers.

The defendant received a total of 20.69 million won ($14,700) from 60 transactions but never possessed a single ticket and reportedly spent the money on repaying private loans and covering living expenses.

The court noted that the defendant had previously been convicted of similar offenses, including a 16-month prison sentence in June 2023 for fraud. They committed the latest crimes just six months after being released on parole in February last year.

“The defendant committed these acts during the repeat offense period and carried out a large number of transactions,” the court said in its ruling. “They deceived an unspecified number of victims, making the nature of the offense particularly serious. However, the court also considered that the defendant admitted to all charges and showed remorse.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]