Lee Young-ji Condemns Scalpers Ahead of Solo Concert, Vows to Protect Fans

Singer Lee Young-ji has expressed her anger over the rampant scalping of tickets ahead of her solo concert, taking a firm stance to protect the rights of artists and fans.

On the YouTube channel '117-Buseungkwan's Bibidi Babidi Boo,' operated by Boo Seungkwan, a video titled 'What to Do, It Seems the Senior Likes Me' was uploaded.

In the video, Lee Young-ji, a close friend of SEVENTEEN's Seungkwan, appeared as a guest, showcasing her bold and candid talk. Recently, Lee Young-ji kicked off her world tour at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, announcing a sold-out show. However, instead of joy, she expressed disdain towards scalpers.

Despite her efforts to lower ticket prices to as little as 10,000 won, scalpers have been reselling them at an outrageous price of 700,000 won. Lee Young-ji used strong language, calling them "these bastards," to express her frustration.

She criticized the sneaky tactics of slightly increasing prices by 20,000 to 30,000 won to entice buyers, emphasizing that this scalping culture must be eradicated.

Senior artist Seungkwan empathized with these challenges and shared practical strategies for crackdown. SEVENTEEN has also faced severe fan exploitation due to their global popularity, with scalped ticket prices reaching millions of won, making Seungkwan's advice particularly relevant.

Seungkwan suggested that security teams and staff should patrol not only the audience entrance areas but also nearby parking lots to address blind spots in on-site transactions. In response, Lee Young-ji humorously vowed to "grab scalpers by the collar and trip them" as soon as they are spotted, recalling her past strong warnings against scalping on social media.

The two continued their conversation with an in-depth discussion on concert planning and entertainment content. Lee Young-ji shared the backstory of her 'Cops and Robbers' content, inspired by her middle school reunion experience, highlighting her close relationship with PD Na Young-seok.

When Seungkwan claimed a similar uncle-niece relationship, Lee Young-ji humorously clarified, "SEVENTEEN is not Na Young-seok's child," proudly boasting her influence gained through 'Earth Arcade.'

Additionally, Lee Young-ji expressed admiration for SEVENTEEN's iconic song 'Very NICE' and its endless encore, as well as the spectacular opening of 'Sonogong,' reiterating the importance of communication with the audience.

Meanwhile, after releasing her new song 'ROBOT' last month, Lee Young-ji plans to continue her world tour, visiting major cities around the globe following her successful Seoul concert.

Reporter Chaeryeong Lim, Ten Asia syjj426@tenasia.co.kr