Fans Criticize IU’s Agency For Recent Fraudulent Ticket Controversy, “Ticket Resold On-site?”

Recently, the case of a netizen who bought IU’s concert ticket was classified as a “fraudulent ticket trader” so they were permanently expelled from IU’s fanclub and couldn’t enter the concert. 

Ticket buyer A then revealed details of their situation and explained the process related to the ticket transactions. A received an email from Melon Ticket about suspicion of a fraudulent ticket transaction so they prepared ID, transaction record, official fanclub certification, and text messages with the friend who assisted them in ticketing to prove that it was not a fraudulent ticket transaction.

After responding to two repeated requests for proof, A received a notification just before the concert stating “Your explanation has been confirmed and the verification process has been completed”, adding that A could attend the concert as usual.

However, when A appeared at the concert, they had to go through an additional verification at the venue and were classified as a “fraudulent ticket trader” despite providing all the necessary documents. As a result, A couldn’t enter the concert venue.

In this process, A explained that a misunderstanding occurred as they failed in the banking step so their friend completed the transaction through bank transfer on their behalf. However, it was classified as proxy ticketing and A received no refund and was permanently expelled from the fanclub.

In this regard, IU’s agency EDAM Entertainment released a statement on IU’s fancafe on April 3rd, apologizing to the fan and promising that they would reach out to the fan for an agreement.

However, the problem was that someone was sitting in A’s seat even though A couldn’t enter the concert venue. Netizens suspected that the ticket was resold through an on-site transaction at the concert venue. In this regard, IU’s side emphasized, “No employee or staff member from our agency or on-site staff resold the ticket to anyone. To prevent misunderstandings, we can provide the original printed ticket of the seat on that day as it was”. The agency added that they would revise the system, including the verification process and verification notification.

However, fans are still frustrated. Some angrily commented, “Please show evidence to prove that the seat vacated by the fan who couldn’t enter the concert was left empty”, “Why did the fan get expelled from the fanclub?”, “Instead of reaching an agreement with the fan, you should apologize to them first”, “If money transferring from a friend is not allowed, you should have stated it clearly in the regulations from the beginning”, etc.

In addition, many people are also demanding compensation for A’s time, disappointment and money loss. Regarding EDAM’s explanation for the ticket resale claim, some fans pointed out, “Having the original ticket does not prove that it was not resold. You could have re-print it”, and added photos taken at the concert to prove that someone was sitting in the seat that was supposed to be left empty.