Tottenham vs. Newcastle Ticket Turning – Looking at the Other Side of the Problem: ‘Scalping’
Recently, soccer player Son Heung-min announced that he would leave the English Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur. In response, ticket prices for the friendly match between Tottenham and Newcastle United have skyrocketed online. The match, in particular, is anticipated to be Son Heung-min’s final appearance in a Tottenham uniform in front of his Korean fans.
On secondhand trading platforms, tickets have been listed at prices more than 23 times their original value. For example, in a post titled “Tottenham vs. Newcastle,” Premium A tickets were sold for 700,000 KRW each, while another listing titled “Tottenham Newcastle 1st Class Section 1, Row 3, Two Seats” was priced at 1 million KRW. Considering the original prices—500,000 KRW for premium, 240,000–300,000 KRW for first class, 120,000–180,000 KRW for second class, and 40,000–70,000 KRW for third class these resale prices represent an excessive burden on fans. Son Heung-min, who has played 454 matches and scored 173 goals for Tottenham over the past decade, was the EPL Golden Boot co-winner in the 2021–2022 season and helped the team qualify for the UEFA Europa League in the 2024–2025 season. This symbolic moment seems to be pushing ticket prices to record highs.
The problem is that this phenomenon goes beyond passionate fandom and leads to illegal scalping practices. According to relevant laws, reselling tickets above their original price is strictly prohibited and punishable. Despite this, such practices are rampant in online communities and secondhand trading apps, often resulting in fraud or scams disguised as ticket sales.
Meanwhile, singer Psy’s wildly popular “Soaked Show” has steadily run campaigns to eliminate ticket scalping since its early days. Through public awareness efforts and increased citizen participation, a culture of orderly ticket booking is gradually taking root.
What Does the Ticket Scalping Market Really Need?
The problem of ticket scalping goes far beyond being just "expensive." It reflects a deeper issue of trust within the online transaction environment. Especially for high-demand events like major sports matches or popular performances, transactions are frequently carried out through secondhand platforms or social media where the identity of the seller cannot be verified. In such environments, it is common for fans to fall victim to scams from sellers who disappear after receiving payment to tickets that never existed in the first place.
Fans are often willing to pay hundreds of thousands of won to see their favorite player or artist, but they have no way to verify whether the transaction is real or safe. This isn’t just an individual problem it stems from a structural loophole that allows anyone to freely sell tickets without going through a real-name authentication system. The more these fraudulent transactions occur, the more consumer trust erodes, ultimately damaging the broader cultural consumption ecosystem. Unfair booking systems, anonymous transaction structures, and platforms with unclear accountability are all contributing factors and these issues don’t just end in one person’s financial loss. In the long run, they threaten the sustainable growth of the sports and entertainment industries.
To prevent not only scalped tickets but also the spread of other fraudulent practices like fake tickets, stolen tickets, or resale by impersonators, there needs to be a way to verify the identity of participants and establish a real-name-based, trust-driven environment. What’s needed now is a technological solution that ensures the authenticity of the buyer and seller while holding the platform accountable for each transaction.
ARGOS: Providing an Identity-Based Real-Name Verification Solution
ARGOS offers a solution centered on identity-based real-name verification to directly address these issues. Through its eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) system, users can be securely verified before entering into transactions creating a safe, real-name-based environment that eliminates anonymity-based risks. This means verifying in real time whether a person is actually who they claim to be, detecting repeated or suspicious behavior by the same user, and identifying whether the user has a history of fraud. From the platform's side, this enables early risk detection, abnormal behavior monitoring, and, if needed, clear tracking of liability in the event of damage.
Moreover, ARGOS's authentication technology is provided via easy-to-integrate APIs, allowing seamless adoption without complex development. For example, when integrated into secondhand marketplaces or community-based ticketing platforms, ARGOS's solution can enable full end-to-end identity checks such as requiring authentication before listing or completing a transaction. This doesn't just block fraudulent behavior at the source; it also boosts platform credibility, user satisfaction, and retention. Rather than relying solely on regulations or public awareness campaigns, we now have the opportunity to protect users and build transparent platforms through technology and identity verification is the key.
So, What Kind of Change Do We Really Need?
Can the current ticket resale environment truly protect fans’ expectations and passion? If simple regulations can’t stop the cycle of scalping and fraud, isn’t it time to enhance transactional trust through technology? Without clear criteria to answer “Is this a real buyer?” or “Is this a safe transaction?”, the problem will only persist. So, what kind of changes do you think are needed to create a trusted, fan-friendly ticketing environment?