Asia News: Prison For Fake Tix; Marcos Helicopters In For Coldplay; Artists And False Advertising

KOREA

Sentencing In Fake Tickets

Seoul Central District Court sentenced a 30-year-old man to six years in prison on Jan. 16 for swindling the equivalent of $450,000 from 31 people to whom he sold fake tickets to K-pop concerts.

An investigation found that the man, whom the court only identified by his surname, Kim, was guilty of “multiple counts of fraud,” according to the Korea Herald. Kim had pretended to sell tickets for concerts by a number of top artists, including IU and Blackpink, about 130 times, keeping the money he received and neglecting to deliver the tickets to the purchasers.

In addition, Kim secured loans using the credit cards of some of his victims based on information he acquired while carrying out the ticket scams. The police investigation also found that Kim’s activities went beyond tickets to include false commercial interactions for cameras, gift certificates and video game currency.

In court, prosecutors claim that even while he was on trial for fraud, Kim continued to use the money he had illicitly gained for gambling and cryptocurrency investments. Kim has already appealed the ruling.

The Record Label Industry Association of Korea conducted a survey of consumers that found 32.8% of respondents between the ages of 19-29 had bought tickets from scalpers at least once, with 20% of this cohort spending more than 500,000 won ($375) on a single ticket.

As a result, some artists are canceling ticket reservations if they believe those tickets were bought by scalpers, who often mark up prices as much at 10 times, depending on the artist. One artist, Jang Beom-june, even canceled all ticket reservations for a series of 10 concerts he was scheduled to perform this month and next. Instead, he will hold an online raffle for the tickets, limiting each person to the purchase of one ticket.

PHILIPPINES

Marcos Lit Up For Coldplay Chopper

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., received criticism online from citizens after he used an official government helicopter to attend a concert by Coldplay on January 19.

Reuters reports that Marcos and his wife had tickets for the sold-out concert but that the roads leading to the Philippine Arena north of Manila where the concert was taking place were filled with people heading for the venue as well, causing massive “traffic complications.”

Marcos’s security detail said in a statement that the situation “posed a security threat” to Marcos, and so it was decided that he and his wife use the presidential helicopter to travel to the arena, which holds about 40,000 people. Under normal circumstances, a journey from the presidential palace to the arena would take 40 minutes by car.

Later, social media lit up with comments about the use of the helicopter, most of them critical, since it is assumed that taxpayer money was used to ferry Marcos to the concert. One Facebook user said, “Using official resources, like the presidential chopper, for personal and non-official activities is generally considered an abuse of power or misuse of government resources.” Another Facebook user said, “We paid for the use of the chopper, fuel and security, who knows even for the tickets for everyone.”

According to a BBC report, Metro Manila is one of the most congested metropolitan areas
in the world as a result of superannuated infrastructure and “inadequate public transportation.” Even Coldplay’s Chris Martin commented on the traffic during the show, as reported by local news site Rappler: “I think you have the number one [traffic] in the world,” he said. “Thank you for making the effort…to be here.” During the second concert, he even played a new song written especially about Manila traffic.

CHINA

Artists And False Advertising

Sometimes concert scammers are not scalpers and those selling fake tickets, but performers and promoters who mislead consumers with false advertising.

A recent article in the China Daily outlined a trend that became quite prevalent during the recent holiday season and for which the authorities have warned ticket buyers to beware of. Because the market for post-COVID concerts has been very hot in China, people are eager to take in live music, and some performers have taken advantage of this eagerness.

One example was something billed as the Blue Danube New Year’s Concert in the city of Liuzhou on Dec. 31. People who bought tickets expected an orchestra, but all they got was an ensemble consisting of a piano, two cellos, two violas and five violins.

Complaints were rampant. Then there was a concert in Shijiazhauang by a group called the Royal Belgian Philharmonic that advertised 12 pieces of music, but audience members said that many of the selections were played twice in order to make that number.

Even worse, the orchestra had no connection to Belgium but was instead a local ensemble that was founded in 2007 containing amateurs and semi-professionals.

Similarly, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin toured Shanghai and several nearby provinces over the New Year holiday, but when concertgoers later checked the website for the famous German orchestra they discovered there were no Chinese dates on their itinerary. What makes the matter more frustrating for those who attended is that tickets to these concerts were not cheap.

China’s state-run television reported scams were carried out by “organizers and performers” who exploited the public’s limited knowledge of the classical music world in a market where demand had become very intense.

Most of the dodgy concerts took place in smaller cities. The report also blamed a lack of advertising regulations, and noted shady groups often use regional references in their name, such as Germany, Austria or Vienna, as well as the names of famous composers, like Strauss, Tchaikovsky and Mozart.