Toss, HYBE team up to develop facial recognition system to stop ticket scalping

By Lee Yeon-woo, The Korea Times - Korea's leading fintech firm and entertainment company plan to implement a system to prevent ticket scalping by allowing K-pop fans to use facial recognition as their ticket, letting them simply walk past a camera at concerts.

Fintech firm Toss teamed up with K-pop entertainment company HYBE and ticket platform InterparkTriple to develop a solution aimed at combating ticket scalping, a persistent issue that is seen as impeding the growth of K-pop, the companies announced, Tuesday.

The heads of the three firms signed an MOU on Monday to prevent illegal ticket trading and promote a more equitable ticketing system. This marks the first time that companies from different industries joined forces to tackle these unfair practices.

Their key concept is to use facial recognition for identity verification both during the ticket purchase process and when entering concert venues.

Toss, responsible for developing and managing the facial recognition system, stated that the use of automated software for ticket purchases will be significantly reduced with this technology, effectively eliminating the possibility of ticket scalping.

Furthermore, procedures like ID checks will be streamlined because attendees will only need to walk past a camera to enter a performance venue.

This cross-industry collaboration comes in response to the growing prevalence of ticket scalping, which has been affecting a wide range of events, from K-pop concerts to professional baseball games.

When trot star Lim Young-woong held a concert in 2023, tickets were illegally sold online for 5 million won ($3,650), despite the regular price being 187,000 won.

The number of ticket scalping reports submitted to the Korea Creative Content Agency surged from 359 cases in 2020 to 2,161 cases in 2023.

In response, the government enacted a new law in March stipulating that individuals who sell tickets obtained through the use of automated software at inflated prices face a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won.

The entertainment industry also introduced measures such as a secret inspector system and mandatory cancellations of illegally traded tickets.

Despite these measures, concerns have been raised that the penalties for scalpers are too lenient and that the methods for proving the use of automated software are unclear, rendering the measures ineffective.

Technical solutions are emerging as a potential answer.

In February, singer Jang Beom-june issued his concert tickets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in collaboration with Hyundai Card.

"The IT industry, including ticket reservation platforms, should work on technical solutions to block bulk purchasing through macro programs. At the same time, the government needs to develop concrete measures, including investing in technology to prevent the use of illegal macro programs," the National Assembly Research Service noted in a report published in November 2023.

Source: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2024/08/126_380501.html 

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