BTS met with 110,000 au∂ιєnce members in Busan, the city they visited for the first time in three years and eight months, successfully creating a perfect city-wide festival that went far beyond a concert. In particular, the event attracted a mαѕѕive influx of fans from both кσяєα and overseas as it coincided with the group's 13th debut anniversary.
At the end of the final concert, BTS and ARMY sang a birthday song together in celebration. The members also shared their heartfelt emotions, saying, "Coming back to our hometown to celebrate our birthday and singing here with all of you is truly meaningful. We believe we were able to endure and hold on through this long time because all of you were here for us. We also want to make music with ARMYs for a long time. We will never forget today. We hope you will fully feel and enjoy these precious emotions that exist only right here".
Although BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG' IN BUSAN on June 12 and 13 concluded with cheers from ARMY around the world and without any major safety incidents, there were still some "blemishes." One of them was a problem that plagues concerts everywhere: ticket scalping.
According to the Busan Provincial Police Agency, as of June 14, authorities had arrested a total of 11 people after deploying around 70 officers from a special task force to intensify inspections targeting illegal ticket transactions around Busan Asiad Main Stadium, where BTS's concerts were held.
The investigation found that the suspects employed rather sophisticated мєтнods. They intentionally loosened the admission wristbands worn by concertgoers so that the bands would not break when removed, allowing them to be transferred to buyers afterward. Although entry regulations required attendees to present both an electronic ticket and a wristband, the suspects are believed to have exploited peak admission hours, when staff primarily relied on wristband verification, to carry out the scheme.
Specificially, A кσяєαn woman in her 40s, referred to as "A," was caught by ρσℓι¢є at around 5:20 PM on the 12th while putting a concert admission wristband on a Chinese woman. A admitted to reselling the ticket, which she had acquired from someone she met online, and it was revealed that she sold the 220.000 won ticket for 680.000 won.
Including Woman A, a total of four South кσяєαns were found engaging in black-market ticket transactions with foreign nationals using similar мєтнods. Among them was a South кσяєαn man in his 30s who was apprehended after authorities received a report through the 112 emergency hotline that he was brokering scalped tickets for Chinese buyers. The group was found to have resold tickets with an original face value of 220,000 won for prices ranging from 350,000 won to 550,000 won.
Foreign nationals were also caught by the ρσℓι¢є for scalping. A Chinese woman, "B," was spotted putting wristbands on three women from her own country at around 4:30 PM on the 12th, but she initially denied the allegations. When the ρσℓι¢є took B to the ticket booth to verify her identity, she confessed to scalping, though she reportedly refused to testify regarding the profit margin.
Another Chinese woman in her 20s, "C," was caught by ρσℓι¢є while attempting to hand over an admission wristband—which she had removed by rubbing it with ethanol cotton pads—to seven people, including Filipino ARMYs.
The ρσℓι¢є imposed a fine of 160.000 won each on the 11 individuals caught selling scalped tickets, in accordance with the Minor Offenses Act.
An official from the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "Ticket scalping is a clear illegal act that tarnishes the status of K-pop and disrupts the healthy performance culture system." The official added, "We will continue to crack down on ticket scalping at crowd-gathering events, such as large-scale performances and sports games."
