A woman in her 20s (hereafter referred to as “A”) was sentenced to prison for pretending to sell tickets to concerts by famous K-pop idols and Korean singers online and then taking money from prospective buyers.

On November 5, judge Song Joong Ho of the Busan District Court said that he sentenced “A,” who was charged with fraud, to 10 months in prison.

Since December 2017 for a period of about seven months, “A” posted messages on internet boards that she was selling concert tickets to BTS, EXO, Shinhwa, and others. She scammed buyers out of a total of 11.14 million won (approximately $9,900) over 63 occasions, charging between 40,000 won (approximately $35.62) and 440,000 won (approximately $391.83) for the tickets. Among the victims was a fan from Malaysia who visited Korea to watch a Shinhwa concert, but lost 220,000 won (approximately $195.92) for a ticket.

Song Joong Ho stated, “Although the number of victims and the duration of criminal activity are significant, ‘A’ has not paid any compensation. The victims, including foreigners, have filed a petition for punishment. The stolen money was not for survival, but for personal purposes such as buying designer bags, wallets, and cosmetics, so the crime is serious. However, I considered the fact that the amount of money stolen from each individual was not large, that ‘A’ has no previous criminal record other than fines, and that there is room for reformation since she is young.”

Meanwhile, the judge rejected the requests for compensation from 11 people on the grounds that their names were partially obscured in a document submitted by the prosecution, thus making the court unable to confirm that they are on the list of victims.

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