Just when fans thought (or rather, hoped) that the situation couldn’t get any worse, it did. Earlier this week, Malaysian VIPs (BIGBANG fans) were left furious after learning that the majority of pre-sale tickets for BIGBANG’s G-Dragon (권지용)’s upcoming concert in Kuala Lumpur had been snapped up by foreign buyers using a ticketing bypass.
Many took to social media to criticise the organiser, Star Planet Malaysia, for allegedly allowing scalpers to jump the queue and secure tickets that, according to fans, should have been prioritised for local buyers. While the organiser claimed that measures had been put in place to prevent scalping, fans were quick to accuse the company of dishonesty, saying the issue had not been properly addressed. Here’s what happened:
General ticket sales for G-Dragon’s two-day concert in Kuala Lumpur went live yesterday (Thursday, 29th May) at 2pm. VIPs rushed to the ticketing site to secure their seats, only to find that others appeared to have gained access to the queue earlier than expected. This, unsurprisingly, led many to suspect that the scalping issue remains unresolved despite repeated pressure on the organiser to take action. One fan even provided screenshots showing their attempts to purchase tickets.
While all this was unfolding, Star Planet Malaysia posted on their official Facebook page, stating that they were in the process of removing bots to ensure local fans could purchase tickets with ease. However, despite these assurances, around 300 tickets were reportedly sold within an hour, even as fans took to social media to complain that they were unable to get past the payment process.
Star Planet later removed the aforementioned Facebook post, adding to suspicions that tickets were indeed being snapped up by insiders and foreign buyers. As expected, Malaysian VIPs were outraged by the outcome. Some have reportedly filed police reports against Star Planet over suspected ticket mishandling, while others have launched petitions calling for the organiser to be replaced ahead of G-Dragon’s upcoming concert. We also received a screenshot of the now-deleted post where fans accused the organiser of lying about the bot-removing process (as seen above).
Regarding the 300 tickets in question, an Instagram user who goes by @/w.ningt posted a Reel bragging about successfully purchasing all 300 passes for the concert and reselling more than half, as shown in the screenshots above. This misstep quickly drew backlash, with many accusing the individual of using a bypass to secure the tickets. Although the video has since been deleted, fans were quick to capture screenshots as evidence. A few also posted their conversation with the scalper, who showed no remorse for their actions.
Earlier today (Friday, 30th May), Star Planet issued an official statement, announcing that they will launch a further investigation into the matter and that any scalped tickets identified would be cancelled immediately. These cancelled tickets, they added, would be made available for purchase again at a later date. Despite the statement, fans remained unconvinced and continued to question whether the organisers were genuinely taking action, particularly as the issue of tickets purchased by foreign buyers using a bypass was not directly addressed.
Regardless, the situation has clearly spiralled out of control, and it remains uncertain how the highly anticipated G-Dragon concert will proceed.
